Two days before Christmas, Joe Joyce sat down at home to watch his heavyweight rivals do battle on the massive ‘Day of Reckoning’ show in Saudi Arabia.

Twelve months ago, Joyce would have had a major part to play in the revitalized heavyweight division but after an annus horribilis which saw him suffer two painful stoppage defeats at the hands of Zhilei Zhang, the 38 year old currently finds himself on the outside looking in.

Joyce took particular interest in how one of his former victims, Joseph Parker, handled Deontay Wilder. 

“I was thinking in round ten that that’s when Wilder would start to really look for the shots,” Joyce told Boxing Social. “Parker hit him with some good overhand rights and he boxed really well but with Wilder there’s always a split second where he can switch off and he’s there with his sniper scope and somebody is gonna get nailed.”

‘The Juggernaut’ was at his relentless best when stopping Parker in September 2022, walking through everything the New Zealander could throw at him and wearing him down en route to an eleventh round win.

In another jarring reminder of just how far down the pecking order he has fallen this year, Joyce also seen another of his former victims, Daniel Dubois, fail in a challenge for Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO,IBF and WBA heavyweight titles and then dispel doubts about his heart and desire to record a career best victory on the massive show in Saudi Arabia, stopping the previously undefeated Jarrell Miller in the final round. 

“I’m happy for Parker, man. He boxed really well and it was a good fight,” a gracious Joyce said. “I’d like to see Parker versus Dubois and then I’ll fight the winner. Then there are other fights to be made.

“Dubois definitely showed me - showed everyone - that he’s moved on from that [questions about his heart]. There’s a lot more to him now I think when he speaks. He’s got that twinkle in his eye.”

Joyce is a smart man and knows that before he thinks about gatecrashing the heavyweight scene that has been so quickly established in Saudi Arabia, he needs to prove that he still has the qualities that made him such a threat. 

There is no shame in losing to a top quality operator like Zhang but Joyce exhibited some troubling signs in their second fight. The cracks in his previously cast iron chin were the most noticeable signs of decline but for the first time in his career Joyce appeared unsure of himself. He revealed that there is a plan being put into place for his return to action. 

“I can’t really say right now but there are a couple of names that we’re going to go with. It’ll be nice to get back in the ring, get a nice win and start looking at some of these serious fights. I’m confident but it’ll be good to get a nice win back on home turf and then possibly explore other avenues that have sprung up in a once in a lifetime kind of way.”