Once on the fringes of a world title shot and in the top five heavyweights on the planet, Joe Joyce is now looking to rebuild his career aged 39 after a difficult past 20 months.

Next month, Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) and Joseph Parker 35-3 (23 KOs) will do battle for the former's IBF heavyweight title in what can be considered one of the best fights that can be made in boxing's blue-ribbon division.

Joyce (16-3, 15 KOs) beat up and stopped both men.

'The Juggernaut' was disciplined in his 2020 win over a somewhat green Dubois, scoring a tenth-round stoppage victory and breaking his opponent's orbital bone in the process.

Parker suffered an equally devastating fate in September 2022. A left hook sent him crashing to the canvas in the eleventh round of their Manchester duel.

But Joyce took his Terminator-esque, come-forward style a step too far against Zhilei Zhang in two separate bouts in 2023, losing both by stoppage, the second more brutal than the first.

Joyce sandwiched a win over Kash Ali in between the second Zhang fight and a points defeat to Derek Chisora last summer.

There have been calls for retirement, but the Putney man is ready to roll on with his career, and even believes a world title shot is a viable option in 2025.

Joyce returns to the ring against an opponent TBC on Queensberry Promotions' March 1st show, headlined by Ryan Garner's European title clash with Salvador Jimenez.

He said at Thursday's press conference: "I'm excited to get back in the ring and start the year with a bang. I'm back in the gym and ready to fight again.

"I've still got a lot to give to the sport. I enjoy my job and there are some great fights there for me. It's an exciting time for heavyweight boxing, I still want to be involved.

"I'm really excited to tune in and see the fight [between Dubois and Parker], I'm waiting and ready to get back in the mix and do some rematches. I'm still improving and working on my stuff.

"I'm interested in all these fights [including Okolie]. I'm ready for it all, I've got a lot of experience in the amateurs and as a professional.

"The aim in 2025 is to get a title shot, god willing. Let's see what happens."