JOE JOYCE is taking inspiration from golden oldie George Foreman in his pursuit of the heavyweight world title.
Heading into last year, Joyce was unbeaten and on the brink of a shot at the gold.
But with big dogs Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk either tied up or failing in negotiations to fight, Joyce took a risky keep-busy fight.
He did so against Chinese star Zhilei Zhang and was stunned in defeat after six rounds when his right eye was completely swollen shut.
The rematch though ended in even more brutal fashion as Joyce was knocked out in the third.
But Joyce has refused retirement and now returns next Saturday in Birmingham against Kash Ali.
And he looks at Foreman – who became the oldest heavyweight champ ever at 46 – as the reason to continue his career.
Joyce, 38, told SunSport: “It’s all in the past now, you’ve seen what for instance Joseph Parker did, I beat him but he came back and beat Deontay Wilder.
“It shows that he’s young and he’s been in the sport a long time, heavyweight champion, so it just shows it’s not it, it’s not over.
“Even like George Foreman came back when he was what? 46. There’s still plenty of time.”
Parker – knocked out by Joyce in 2022 – added Zhang to his run of wins after outpointing Wilder in December.
And Joyce will be hoping for a similar resurgence and maybe even a rematch as he looks to cash in on the mega-money bouts in Saudi.
He said: “There’s other fighters, other rematches to make. I think I’ve fought all of them other than Fury, that would be a great fight to get on my record before I retire.
“There’s other names as well. It’s an exciting time to be a heavyweight, especially after the introduction of Saudi fights and His Excellency putting on these spectacular fights.”
Joyce would have seven years left to better Foreman’s world title record – but he made sure to remind that he is still in his 30s.
He joked: “It’s funny, you can say, ‘I’m going to retire when I’m this age.’
“But when you get to that age you’re like, ‘Oh, I think I’ll have a few more fights.’
“It’s always possible. Like with Foreman, he came back at 45 and won the heavyweight title.
“So I’ve still got a few more years. I’ve still got a few more years till I’m 40!
“I still feel fit and hungry to get back in the mix. I would still like to win a world title before I retire and earn enough money to retire on.”
Asked whether he could break Foreman’s record, Joyce replied: “I don’t know about 46! Let me get to 40 first and see where I’m at.”
