British heavyweight banger Joe Joyce is embracing a potential fight with Hughie Fury, who is the cousin of former unified champion Tyson Fury.
The British Boxing Board of Control has ordered the heavyweight bout, directing Fury to defend his British title against Joyce. The purse bid is scheduled for December 12.
Fury is coming off a twelve round decision loss to Kubrat Pulev in a final eliminator for an IBF world title shot against Anthony Joshua. Fury traveled to Bulgaria to take the fight and claimed that a cut suffered during the contest ad affected his performance.
Ironically, Joyce was being used as a sparring partner to help Tyson Fury prepare for his December 1 clash with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Joyce, who holds the Commonwealth title, will see action on the Wilder-Fury pay-per-view undercard, when he faces veteran Joe Hanks.
"Listen, I respect Hughie, I consider him and [his father] Peter a friend to me, but this is a business," Joyce told Sky Sports.
"I am top 10 in the WBA, but I think this is a fight the fans would want to see, and I am happy to challenge Hughie for the title and give the fans an exciting fight."
Joyce, an Olympic silver medalist, is going to push for a "big fight" in early 2019.
In the past, Hughie has rejected the idea of a fight with Joyce - but he might take the challenge at this point in his career or face the possibility of being stripped of the British crown.
