Joe Joyce says Luis Ortiz doesn’t want any trouble!
For the undefeated UK heavyweight Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce (13-0, 12 KO’s), life is going swell. He is two months off his latest conquest of Carlos Takam which came directly after the biggest win of his career. Back on November 26, 2020, Joyce put his “0” on the line along with red hot prospect Daniel Dubois. Each man was given a great deal of credit for facing one another so unnecessarily early in their career. Typically it would have been more common to let the bout “marinate” as is the way of so many modern fighters. When the two tested their wits with one another, not only did Joyce beat Dubois, he literally broke his face and forced him to quit on his stool. The win, and the fashion that he achieved it in, stand as a major feather in his cap.
Currently Joyce is ranked #2 (WBO), #3 (WBC) and #7 (IBF). While these are very solid standings, the Juggernaut wants to wrap a world title around his waist more than ogle high rankings. With this being the case, Joyce is back on the hunt searching for quality opposition to further display his skills against. And in a recent interview with IFL TV the UK bruiser reveals that one fighter not looking for problems was Luis “King King” Ortiz (32-2, 27 KO’s). According to the Juggernaut, when Team Joyce came knocking, the opposition wanted nothing to do with it.
“There is a few more names. I think Ortiz was mentioned but I’m not sure he wants the smoke But there are other names around that area so we’ll see what we can get… he didn’t want a war!”
WHO YOU GOING TO PICK??
Joyce would certainly make for an appealing opponent selection for Ortiz. Regardless of who he picks, King Kong should be seeking to return to action soon, having not fought since his November 7, 2020 first round decimation of Alexander Flores. The Flores bout was his first since suffering his second loss to then WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Despite only having the one sacrificial lamb bout with Flores since his latest setback, Ortiz still enjoys the favorable rankings of #4 (WBC), #6 (WBA), #7 (WBO) and #10 (IBF). A win over Joyce would certainly advance his present standings.
It will be interesting to see if Team Ortiz responds to these claims or if a fight actually comes to fruition. The last foe that King Kong was publicly clamoring for was one-fight champion Andy Ruiz. Ortiz was keen on facing Ruiz after witnessing his far from stellar bout with Chris Arreola. At the moment though, neither Ortiz nor Ruiz have a fight on the books. It will be telling to see who they opt to fight next.
By: Bakari Simpson
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