Deontay Wilder offered Joe Joyce as his next opponent after the former WBC heavyweight champion confirmed boxing’s return

According to promoter Frank Warren, DEONTAY WILDER was set to face Britain’s Joe Joyce in his comeback bout.

Wilder, 36, confirmed last week that he intends to continue boxing despite a second straight loss to Tyson Fury in October.

2

2

The American is still No. 1 in the WBC rankings behind champion Fury.

And Warren, who promotes Olympic silver medalist Joyce, thinks it’s a logical fight given his man’s 2nd place.

Speaking to iFL TV, he said: “He [Wilder] was in grueling battles with Tyson. The last one was a classic.

“If you’re talking about the best fights of the last 20 years, this fight [Fury-Wilder III] is certainly one of them.

“I don’t know what else he’s got… he’s a dangerous man and he can hit – ask Tyson.

“So if he has something to give, good luck to him, we welcome him back.

“He and Joe Joyce what a great fight that would be. Who would you rather see him fight than Joe Joyce?

“You want to see him [Wilder] fight Dillian Whyte? I would much rather see him fight Joe Joyce.

FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS – THE BEST OFFERS FOR NEW CUSTOMERS

“I don’t want to see two losers fight. I would rather see him fight a winner and he would fight for first place.”

Wilder had won all 40 of his professional fights before taking on Fury for the first time in December 2018 – a fight that controversially ended in a draw.

The hard-hitting heavyweight from Alabama then knocked out Dominic Breazeale and Luis Ortiz in 2019 before facing Fury again in February 2020 and being stopped in the seventh round.

He then fought The Gypsy King a third time in October of last year, dropping Fury twice but ultimately losing by KO in the 11th round.

But recently speaking about his future in sport, he said: “I can’t stop here. I have to continue my journey. I have to, I have to.

“I definitely want to resume my career. I have a lot of other things to get out of the way.

“I’ll take my kids away when I come back because now I can enjoy my life the way I want to.

“I sacrificed so much to be in this position in my life and to be able to live my life the way I want to for the rest of my life.”

Meanwhile, Joyce transitioned from amateurs in 2017 and has won all 13 of his professional fights.

His biggest win came 18 months ago in an all-British duel with Daniel Dubois, a clash he won by 10th-round KO.

Joyce was due to face former WBO champion Joseph Parker this summer, but that fight has now been pushed back to September.

The Briton is still scheduled to fight in July although his opponent has yet to be announced.