Joyce beats Takam to keep heavyweight title ambitions on course

Joe Joyce kept his heavyweight title ambitions on track with a sixth-round stoppage against Carlos Takam at Wembley Arena on Saturday.

The 35-year-old secured his latest win against former challenger Takam to stretch his unbeaten record to 13 fights, including 12 knockouts.

As the WBO's mandatory challenger, Joyce will now have a keen eye on the outcome of September's bout between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.

"What I want is AJ or Usyk. I'm ready now and don't need any more tests," he told BT Sport.

Joyce absorbed pressure from Takam in the early rounds before a barrage of punches in the fourth put him in control of the contest.

A powerful left hook from Joyce at the start of the sixth startled Takam and the referee intervened with the Frenchman increasingly unsteady on his feet.

"He is still dangerous, so I had to take my opportunity when I got it," Joyce added.

"He did mildly hurt me, I had to use the sweet science of boxing such as movement and feints to get the performance done.

"He didn't say anything about the stoppage, he is a warrior. It was a very tough fight, so my respect to him.

"I will go back in the gym and watch my fights back, analyse my performance and work on my mistakes, like when I got caught with silly shots."