Tyson Fury once claimed potential opponent Joe Joyce “couldn’t lace” his boots.

Fury experienced his first professional boxing defeat at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in May. The 35-year-old suffered a split decision loss after enduring a savage ninth-round demolition by the Ukrainian fighter, narrowly escaping a knockout before the bell came to his rescue.

The ex-WBC champion is gearing up for redemption on December 21, when he faces Usyk once more in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Post-Usyk fight plans for Fury are still up in the air, with the outcome expected to play a major role in shaping his future.

Fury maintained after the defeat that he would hang up his gloves only when he falls out of love with boxing, leaving room for several more high-profile fights in his career. In April, before facing Usyk, he named Joyce among a list of 10 fights he was considering.

He said: “I’ll do Usyk, Usyk (again). AJ (Anthony Joshua), AJ. That’s four. Then I might back a Daniel Dubois in or a Joe Joyce. Joseph Parker. Maybe Deontay Wilder. Maybe a European guy and a trilogy with Usyk afterwards.”

Fury and Joyce already knew each other well from their sparring sessions. Joyce had spent two weeks training with the ‘Gypsy King’ in Big Bear, California, prior to Fury’s first bout with Wilder.

Despite swirling rumours that Joyce caused Fury problems, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist clarified that neither fighter was knocked out during their training. Fury went on to claim a draw and two victories against Wilder, while Joyce delivered a stunning knockout to Parker in September 2022.

After his triumph over Parker, Joyce didn’t hesitate to challenge Fury, but the then-WBC champion wasn’t particularly impressed with Joyce’s performance. Fury dismissed Joyce’s chances against him, stating: “He wouldn’t land one punch on me in 12 rounds.

“I don’t think he could hit me with a f***ing handful of rice. He’s a big man, but I’m bigger. He’s heavy, but I’m heavier. He’s a good fighter, but I’m the best in the world for a reason.

“I think he beats Anthony Joshua, I think he beats the middleweight [Oleksandr Usyk]. He might have a problem with Deontay Wilder’s speed and power, and I don’t think he could lace my boots up – there’s no shame in that.”

However, Fury made a huge U-turn just days later when he took to social media to hail Joyce as the second-best heavyweight boxer. Fury said in a self-recorded video: “I’ve changed my mind. I’ve got to say, big Joe Joyce is the second-best heavyweight in the world behind myself. On his day, given his moment, who knows if he would beat me or not. I think we’d have to find out.”

In December 2022, Fury, Joyce and Usyk had a three-way face-off in the ring following Fury’s victory over Derek Chisora. Fury, having called the Ukrainian a “gap-toothed sausage,”, praised Joyce as a “warrior” after he entered the ring to challenge him.

Caught in the excitement of the moment, the pair promised a showdown at Wembley the following year. But Fury’s only fight in 2023 came against ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, narrowly defeating the Cameroonian via a split decision.

In anticipation of Joyce’s 2023 rematch with Zhilei Zhang – which saw Joyce knocked out in round three – Fury even extended an offer to help his competitor. The Gypsy King claimed he had special insight into overcoming Zhang, but wanted £100,000 in return for his expertise.

Fury said: “Joe I saw you’ve got the Zhang fight coming up again, if you want some proper southpaw sparring from someone who’s bigger, fatter, quicker, harder puncher, everything than Zhang, then please come up to Morecambe and do some sparring with me.

“It can only improve it, it will make it better and trust me on this, I’ve got a secret for you and I know how to beat that Zhang. Chop him down like an old oak tree. The offer is there Joe, get yourself down to Morecambe Bay and do as many rounds as you want with myself.”

Joyce declined Fury’s offer, calling it “overpriced”, before adding: “Number one, £10,000 a round is not really worth it. And then, number two, I have already sparred him.”

He went on to reveal that he views Fury as a future opponent, stating: “I know it would be good preparation but that would be a fight I want to take as my next fight or my next couple of fights. I don’t want to go and give him all of my tactics. It’s just a bad idea to go and spar with someone you are going to fight.”

Joyce’s most recent fight was a win over Kash Ali in March, knocking him out in the 10th round of their Birmingham clash.