Olympic silver medal winner Joe Joyce is less than a week away from his scheduled showdown with Chinese giant Zhang Zhilei.
Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) will defend his WBO interim-heavyweight title against Zhang on Saturday night.
A victory would place Joyce in line for a mandatory crack at unified world champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk has already been ordered to make a mandatory against WBA ‘regular’ champion Daniel Dubois. Both sides have already begun discussions to have a showdown in the summer.
Joyce holds a knockout win over Dubois.
His former foe gets the quicker title crack as the result of a mandatory schedule agreement between the sanctioning organizations.
The winner of Usyk vs. Dubois will likely have to make a mandatory defense against the IBF’s top man Filip Hrgovic.
The big puncher is not overly pleased that his world title opportunity is potentially at least a year away.
“It is annoying,” Joyce told Sky Sports. “It’s really annoying that Dubois is ahead in the queue, and Hrgovic as well.
“It’s out of my control and unfortunate. But fortunate for Dubois to come off a devastating loss [to me] and then be before me in the selection for the [unified title shot]. Only in boxing would this stuff happen.
“Nothing really surprises me. I’m just patient and I’ll get my shot. If I just keep on beating these guys then I’ll get the world title. I’m in a good position and it’s exciting times. There are plenty of good fights out there. I will get there eventually. I’m right there, so it’s a matter of time. I’ve got confidence in my ability and I do deliver when I fight. It’s going to be quite hard stopping me.”