Former super middleweight champion Carl Froch views Olympic silver medal winner Joe Joyce as the next big threat at the heavyweight world level.

Last year, Joyce picked up the biggest win of his career to date when he stopped highly regarded unbeaten contender Daniel Dubois.

The victory allowed Joyce (12-0, 11 KOs) to secure the number 2 ranking in the WBO's top ten.

At 35-years-old, time is not on Joyce's side. He needs to get his career moving at top speed.

Joyce's promoter, Frank Warren, is planning to push for a world title shot by the end of the year.

At the moment, the mandatory challenger to the WBO title is former cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk.

If the current champion, Anthony Joshua, decides to vacate the belt in order to move forward with a high stakes unification against Tyson Fury, then the sanctioning body would order Usyk and Joyce to collide for the vacant belt.

If and when the time comes for Joyce's big opportunity, Froch gives him a good shot to get the job done.

"I've got to say Joe Joyce [is the next big threat at world level]. I've seen him sparring hundreds of rounds at the England squad when I was there for the last four, five years of my career, and I've seen him in there with AJ," Froch told Sky Sports.

"He doesn't look capable when he shapes up and lets his shots go, but he's more than capable when he steps in the ring with anyone. We saw that against Daniel Dubois, when everyone was picking Dubois to win. It wasn't really close was it, he bust him up with a jab. I know he's 35-years-old, but he's fit and strong and full of self-belief."