Joe Joyce has been advised to avoid fighting Deontay Wilder because of the damage he sustained in his last fight against Christian Hammer.
Joyce, 36, fought for the first time in almost a year last weekend when he stopped Hammer in four rounds at the Wembley Arena. It was a fairly straightforward win for 'The Juggernaut', but he still took a lot of punches from Hammer on his way to the finish.
Former world champion turned boxing pundit Carl Frampton thinks Wilder would be a problematic matchup for Joyce because he gets hit a lot in his fights. Frampton has backed Joyce to give every top heavyweight a tough fight, but thinks he would struggle against Wilder.
“People talk about what fight next. I think the only one to try and stay away from, because he does get hit so clean, is Wilder because he is such a ferocious puncher, but I think Joe gives every single heavyweight on the planet a hard fight," Frampton told Fight Hub TV.
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Joyce has been known for his ability to withdraw punishment, with fellow British heavyweight Johnny Fisher even claiming Joyce's bone density test is six times that of a normal human being. Frampton thinks Joyce can't continue to rely on his chin if he is to challenge the best heavyweights on the planet.
“I don’t know if that was even a good performance. I suppose it was a good performance on paper,” Frampton added. “He got rid of Hammer in four rounds, but he got hit really clean. We know Joe gets hit, and that’s how he fights and he marches forward but he got hit really, really clean.
“There was still no effect on him and he did what he had to do, but how long can you continue to do that for? It’s hard not to like Joe, everyone likes Joe. He’s a great guy. He’s as tough as f***. A proper hard, hard man."
Joyce has even been backed to give now-retired heavyweight champion Tyson Fury a run for his money. "That even includes the big man, the guy at the top, Tyson Fury just because of how tough he is and how he fights. He’s so fit, so unbelievably fit," Frampton added.
Fury retired after knocking out Dillian Whyte in April, but Joyce thinks 'The Gypsy King' is fooling fans with his retirement claim and will return to the ring. "Maybe he's retired for now. I think he's probably talking b*****s and he will come back," he told Mirror Fighting.
