“It’s always an attractive option,” Joyce said to Sky Sports. “Before I took Zhang, which was obviously a bad decision, I was WBO Interim [champion] off the back of beating Dubois and Parker. So it’s just like a bit of a mistake that I’m going to rectify now.”

Joyce defeated Dubois in November 2020, forcing him to take a knee after repeatedly damaging his left eye. At the time, the victory was viewed as the biggest win of Joyce’s career and earned him the WBO interim title.

The careers of the two heavyweights have moved in opposite directions since then. Dubois rebounded from that loss to become a two-time world champion, scoring notable victories over Anthony Joshua and Fabio Wardley. Joyce, meanwhile, saw his own title hopes fall apart following the Zhang defeats.

Joyce knows any talk of Dubois depends on beating Suslenkov first.

“I’ve got to deal with what’s in front of me first before looking too far ahead,” Joyce said.

The July 11 bout takes place on the undercard of the heavyweight clash between Murat Gassiev and Tony Yoka. A loss would likely end Joyce’s hopes of returning to contention, while a convincing win could keep alive his pursuit of one more run at the heavyweight division’s biggest names.