Tony Yoka is ready to renew his ring rivalry with Joe Joyce.

The pair of unbeaten heavyweights have taken to social media to call each other out, both far more adamant than when they actually met in the ring more than five years ago. Yoka delivered a Gold medal at super heavyweight for France in the 2016 Rio Olympics, outpointing Joe Joyce who took home for Great Britain. Both have since emerged as rising heavyweight contenders, though Joyce (13-0, 12KOs) further along in his career at the moment.

Yoka would love nothing more than to chance to meet and surpass the Brit.

“We wanted to fight Joe Joyce earlier this year,” Yoka insisted to BoxingScene.com. “His promoter [Frank Warren] called us but they decided to fight (Carlos) Takam instead.

“So, we will see. That’s a fight I want. I think I’m ready for it.”

Joyce claimed a sixth-round stoppage of Takam in their July 24 clash in London. The fight was his first since a tenth-round stoppage of unbeaten Daniel Dubois last November for his biggest win to date.

Yoka (10-0, 8KOs) has slowly built up a respectable résumé, recently adding volume. Friday’s clash with unbeaten Petar Milas (15-0, 12KOs)—which airs live on Canal+ in Europe and ESPN+ in the United States from Stade Roland Garros in Paris—will mark Yoka’s fourth fight in just 50 weeks since the pandemic.

A win on Friday merely paves the way for plenty more to come as the 29-year-old Frenchman has title contention in his sights.

“We plan to fight again in December,” vows Yoka. “Maybe in USA, maybe in France. We are still working on it. When we come out in 2022, we want a big name like Joyce.”

In the meantime, social media banter will have to suffice.

“It’s good to build it up,” Yoka notes. “I beat him in the amateur, in the Olympics. I heard and read some (British) fans claiming he won that fight, that he was robbed, blah, blah blah. So you know what? Let’s make it clear.

“I definitely know that we are not going to let it go to (the scorecards). I’m going to knock him out and then move past this stage.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox