Yahoo Finance Joe Joyce vs Carlos Takam: Fight time, undercard, prediction, ring walks, TV, how to watch, live stream, odds
Joe Joyce will look to set up a showdown with the winner of September’s heavyweight title battle between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk when he fights Carlos Takam in London this weekend.
‘The Juggernaut’ is set to replace Usyk as the WBO’s official mandatory moving forward, meaning he will be in line for a shot at the titles in the near future - and the boyhood Arsenal fan wants to set up a blockbuster clash at the Emirates Stadium.
But first Joyce must make sure he takes care of business against Takam, an experienced and durable competitor who is best known on these shores for stepping in as a late replacement opponent for Joshua in Cardiff in 2017 after Kubrat Pulev suffered a shoulder injury, giving a resilient performance on his only world title challenge to date before finally being stopped in round 10.
This is the 35-year-old Joyce’s first fight since November, when he stunned Daniel Dubois in a memorable all-British clash at Westminster’s Church House, with his stinging jab inflicting serious damage and forcing his previously undefeated and ascending rival to suffer a fractured eye socket.
The former Commonwealth Games and European amateur champion - a silver medal winner at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 - is now 12-0 (11 KOs) after only turning professional at the age of 31 and will be eager to sustain his momentum against an opponent he is the strong favourite to beat but whom is capable of making life very difficult.
Takam, who turns 41 in December, also lost to Derek Chisora in the summer of 2018, while he has also been in with the likes of Alexander Povetkin and Joseph Parker previously.
He has won his last four fights against low-key opposition in Senad Gashi, Craig Lewis, Fabio Maldonado and Jerry Forrest, the last three by unanimous decision.
The Forrest bout was his last outing, taken on very short notice - by both men - in Las Vegas 12 months ago.
Joyce vs Takam date, UK start time, venue and ring walks
Joyce vs Takam is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 24, 2021.
The card will be held at The SSE Arena in Wembley, north-west London, UK.
Ring walks for the main event of the evening are expected at around 10pm BST, though as ever that will depend on the length of the earlier undercard bouts.
Joyce vs Takam fight card/undercard in full
Joe Joyce vs Carlos Takam
Chris Jenkins vs Ekow Essuman
Hamzah Sheeraz vs Ezequiel Gurria
Chris Bourke vs James Beech Jr
David Adeleye vs Mladen Manev
Micky Burke Jr vs Paul Cummings
Michal Soczynski vs Matt Sen
Sam Noakes vs Michael Isaac Carrero
Charles Frankham vs Dean Jones
George Fox vs Reece Barlow
How to watch Joyce vs Takam
TV channel: Saturday’s event is being broadcast live on BT Sport 1, with coverage of the undercard beginning at 7:15pm.
Live stream: BT Sport subscribers can also watch the action live via the BT Sport website or app.
Joyce vs Takam weigh-in results
The towering Joyce tipped the scales on Friday at 263 ¾ pounds - five pounds heavier than for his win over Dubois.
Takam - who is five inches shorter than his 6ft 6ins opponent - weighed in at 248 ½ pounds.
Joyce vs Takam prediction
Joyce can ill-afford a slip-up here as he risks his WBO mandatory status and dreams of a world title shot.
Takam is a tricky and very durable customer, but is now 40 and has a significant size, weight and reach disadvantage here, while little should really be taken from his four-fight winning streak, given the calibre of the opposition.
Much like against Dubois, expect Joyce to let his superb jab do most of the talking and secure a deserved and one-sided stoppage in the second half of the fight. We’ll say round 10.
Joyce vs Takam betting odds
Joyce to win: 1/9
Takam to win: Between 9/1 & 10/1
Draw: 49/1
Joyce to win by KO, TKO or DQ: 1/2
Joyce to win by decision/technical decision: 14/5
Takam to win by KO, TKO or DQ: 10/1
Takam to win by decision/technical decision: 14/1
Odds via Betfair Exchange (subject to change). Click here to find out more.
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