BoxRec

Warren: Usyk Fight Puts Joe Joyce In Right Place At Right Time For Heavyweight Championship

“We’re trying to get that fight sorted out. We’d like to get that fight between Joe and Usyk out sometime in April,” Warren told Boxing Scene. “It’s a cracking fight. It’s a great opportunity for Joe as it is for me. It’s a tough fight for Joe.”

It’s a fight in which Joyce and his team—including manager Sam Jones who remains in talks with Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk—are eager to make, even understanding their place in line for a shot at the ultimate prize.

“We’re in discussion with Matchroom with Joshua as Team Fury. We’re in a position where once we get that fight on, it will be a two-fight deal,” Warren notes. “For Joe, he will have to bide his time before he gets to fight the winner.

“The Usyk fight puts Joe in the right place at the right time. Believe me, Usyk is no schmuck and it’s not guaranteed that my guy wins no questions asked (Usyk beat Joyce in a 2013 World Series of Boxing event). It’s a really good fight for the fans and puts the winner in a great position to challenge for the undisputed heavyweight championship.”

Oleksandr Usyk vs Joe Joyce officially ordered for ‘interim’ belt

Oleksandr Usyk vs Joe Joyce is likely heading for purse bids after being ordered to take place for the WBO ‘interim’ heavyweight belt, according to Eddie Hearn.

The situation with Usyk, who currently sits as Anthony Joshua’s WBO mandatory challenger, was an inconvenience for AJ’s plans to fight Tyson Fury next for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

For a fight to be ‘undisputed’, all four belts – the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO – must be on the line.

As the overdue WBO mandatory, Usyk insisted that he must either get to fight AJ next or the Brit must vacate his belt.

However, it appears a solution has been worked out.

The WBO have ordered Usyk to face the second-highest heavyweight in their rankings, Joe Joyce.

This bout will be for an ‘interim’ belt, which will almost certainly see the winner upgraded to become the full champion after Joshua vs Fury.

It is known that AJ and Fury plan to fight two times this year, and so it is thought that their first meeting will crown an undisputed champion, with the WBO belt then vacated before the rematch.

This would mean that the Usyk vs Joyce winner is upgraded to become the full WBO world champion.

Joshua’s promoter Hearn, who has also co-promoted Usyk in recent fights, confirmed this news this morning as he revealed that Usyk vs Joyce is likely heading to purse bids.

I'm in the minority Joyce stoppage camp. I think he stops him in the late rounds, having convincingly lost the first 2/3s of the fight.

It'll be a fantastic fight though. Two of the very fittest heavyweights around.

seems picking joyce is getting more and more popular, personally im not as sold on the 'he comes on late' angle when his opponent has very good stamina and movement to get away

and the relentlessness of joyce is exaggerated a bit, his wok rate was nothing special vs jenn or ddd

still like usyk to go the distance like jenninings, except win on points

One things for sure its a tough fight for both!

Usyk has probably lost a bit of speed and freshness since their WSB fight.

I fancy Usyk though on points in a tough fight.

Whoever wins probably deserves one easy voluntary defence afterwards if they get upgraded to full champ like expected.

Because if they lose in their first defence they'd be called a paper champ.

Joe Joyce Confident Oleksandr Usyk Would Face Him in UK

Olympic silver medal winner Joe Joyce has no problem traveling overseas to secure a high-stakes fight with Oleksandr Usyk - which would have the WBO's interim-heavyweight title at stake.

But, he also believes Usyk would embrace the possibility of staging their fight in the UK.

The World Boxing Organization is on board with approving Joyce-Usyk for the interim-belt.

The full WBO champion is Anthony Joshua, who also holds the WBA, IBF, IBO titles.

Joshua's handlers are in serious negotiations to finalize a full division unification clash with WBC champion Tyson Fury.

According to the WBO, the winner of Fury-Joshua will have to face the victor of Joyce vs. Usyk.

That likely won't happen, because the Fury-Joshua agreement would involve a two fight commitment - and promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed that the WBO belt will become vacant in the aftermath of the first encounter.

“The WBO now has him as number 1 and me as number ?2 so it is the natural progression that we fight each other. Especially if Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are working on fighting each other, probably a couple of times. The WBO is backing it, they want to make the fight and the fans want to see it happen," Joyce told The Sun.

“I know Usyk has a lot of support in the UK and he has never been afraid of travelling. I remember fighting him in the World Boxing Super Series in East London and it felt like I was in the Ukraine. It seems like every Ukrainian based in the UK comes out to support their guy when they compete so, if fans are allowed in by the time we meet, the atmosphere will be great. His fans bring drums, they sing and shout so I am sure he will have no problem fighting here.”

Hearn Expects Fight To Go To a Purse Bid

Eddie Hearn, who works with Oleksandr Usyk, expects the heavyweight clash with Joe Joyce to head to a purse bid.

The World Boxing Organization has sanctioned Usyk-Joyce for their interim-title.

Anthony Joshua is the WBO's full champion - and also holds the WBA, IBF, IBO titles.

Joshua is heading to a full division unification with WBC world champion Tyson Fury.

The Fury-Joshua winner would have to make a mandatory defense against either Usyk or Joyce.

Usyk and Joyce had collided in the amateur ranks - with the Ukrainian boxer walking away with a decision win.

Joyce secured the number two ranking under the WBO, when he knocked out highly ranked Daniel Dubois in 2020.

Usyk was the undisputed champion at cruiserweight, after unifying the WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF titles in 2018. He officially made a move to the heavyweight division the following year.

Pursuant to the WBO's rules, when a world champion moves up in weight - they automatically become the mandatory challenger in their new division.

The two sides have been negotiating for the last few weeks. No agreement has been reached at the moment.

"The WBO have ruled [Usyk vs Joyce] for the interim title with a view to the winner fighting the winner of AJ-Fury," Hearn told Sky Sports.

"I believe that fight will go to purse bids in a couple of weeks. Certainly we will be bidding for that fight. It is a good fight. There is history between the two of them from the amateur game. It is a fight that we would be interested in putting together."

Joyce's manager, Sam Jones, indicates that both sides are still engaged in active negotiations to finalize a deal.

Joyce was at Hearn’s show on Saturday. May have just been to show support to Fisher and Marku but I’d be willing to bet Eddie laid it on thick with him.

Wonder if FW will be able to get it over the line and on tot BT without the need for purse bids.

maverick23 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 06:40 Wonder if FW will be able to get it over the line and on tot BT without the need for purse bids.

What would these guys wanna get paid?

Would £1m for JJJ be his highest career purse? Would he have gotten more against DDD?

We know Usyk is clear A-side. First name on poster, dressing room, enter ring, announcements etc.

Both these guys don't really come off as being too bothered about all that stuff.

For me I guess it's getting the best deal. This fight is more of less for the WBO world title.

After Joshua-Fury, it's likely gonna get vacated. Unless Fury-AJ can't rematch straight away due to an injury.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 06:50

maverick23 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 06:40 Wonder if FW will be able to get it over the line and on tot BT without the need for purse bids.

What would these guys wanna get paid?

Would £1m for JJJ be his highest career purse? Would he have gotten more against DDD?

We know Usyk is clear A-side. First name on poster, dressing room, enter ring, announcements etc.

Both these guys don't really come off as being too bothered about all that stuff.

For me I guess it's getting the best deal. This fight is more of less for the WBO world title.

After Joshua-Fury, it's likely gonna get vacated. Unless Fury-AJ can't rematch straight away due to an injury.

Usyk would have had some big paydays against Chisora and against Bellew so I think he’ll want a decent 7 figure payday to fight Joyce - maybe £2m or something like that.

No idea what Joyce got for Dubois but I’d guess something like £800k.

Would the fight do more than 250k buys on BT? I’d be surprised given Usyk barely talks any English and Joyce isn’t the most excitable. Sam Jones will sell the hell out of him but he’ll need someone to argue with to get the casuals interested.

Leaning towards Usyk on this one. His all round boxing skills are better than Joyce's.

Joyce will keep coming like he does, but his lack of speed will be the deciding factor against Usyk. Joyce had the tools (a jab) to wear out Dubois but Usyk is on a whole different playing field.

maverick23 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 07:21

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 06:50

maverick23 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 06:40 Wonder if FW will be able to get it over the line and on tot BT without the need for purse bids.

What would these guys wanna get paid?

Would £1m for JJJ be his highest career purse? Would he have gotten more against DDD?

We know Usyk is clear A-side. First name on poster, dressing room, enter ring, announcements etc.

Both these guys don't really come off as being too bothered about all that stuff.

For me I guess it's getting the best deal. This fight is more of less for the WBO world title.

After Joshua-Fury, it's likely gonna get vacated. Unless Fury-AJ can't rematch straight away due to an injury.

Usyk would have had some big paydays against Chisora and against Bellew so I think he’ll want a decent 7 figure payday to fight Joyce - maybe £2m or something like that.

No idea what Joyce got for Dubois but I’d guess something like £800k.

Would the fight do more than 250k buys on BT? I’d be surprised given Usyk barely talks any English and Joyce isn’t the most excitable. Sam Jones will sell the hell out of him but he’ll need someone to argue with to get the casuals interested.

According to unreliable sources he got between £1m to £1.5m for Dubois. He received £500k for the Wallisch fight though, which seems believable.

Dubois definitely got paid more than JJJ though,

If Whyte can get £4m for Povetkin, these lads should be on more. Maybe Ed’s mystery April 24th PPV?

mickey1975 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:28 If Whyte can get £4m for Povetkin, these lads should be on more. Maybe Ed’s mystery April 24th PPV?

I know you say it’s from a good source but I’d still be amazed if the £4m Povetkin amount is genuine given how Sky’s PPV model works.

I can’t see £8m being spent on this fight but agree re: potentially looking to have this as his late April/early May PPV. Surely FW won’t let that happen though?

Bivol-Richards on the undercard... it’s Eastern Europe’s turn to fill us in.

maverick23 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:35

mickey1975 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:28 If Whyte can get £4m for Povetkin, these lads should be on more. Maybe Ed’s mystery April 24th PPV?

I know you say it’s from a good source but I’d still be amazed if the £4m Povetkin amount is genuine given how Sky’s PPV model works.

I can’t see £8m being spent on this fight but agree re: potentially looking to have this as his late April/early May PPV. Surely FW won’t let that happen though?

I argued the same with the man until my friend inboxed me and said the guy was Barry Hearns right hand man for years.

mickey1975 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:37

maverick23 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:35

mickey1975 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:28 If Whyte can get £4m for Povetkin, these lads should be on more. Maybe Ed’s mystery April 24th PPV?

I know you say it’s from a good source but I’d still be amazed if the £4m Povetkin amount is genuine given how Sky’s PPV model works.

I can’t see £8m being spent on this fight but agree re: potentially looking to have this as his late April/early May PPV. Surely FW won’t let that happen though?

I argued the same with the man until my friend inboxed me and said the guy was Barry Hearns right hand man for years.

Hmmm. What’s the name of the guy? Dillian doesn’t strike me as the type to talk numbers and I’d be surprised if there’s more than a handful of guys at Matchroom that would be privy to that kind of thing.

maverick23 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:56

mickey1975 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:37

maverick23 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2021, 09:35

I know you say it’s from a good source but I’d still be amazed if the £4m Povetkin amount is genuine given how Sky’s PPV model works.

I can’t see £8m being spent on this fight but agree re: potentially looking to have this as his late April/early May PPV. Surely FW won’t let that happen though?

I argued the same with the man until my friend inboxed me and said the guy was Barry Hearns right hand man for years.

Hmmm. What’s the name of the guy? Dillian doesn’t strike me as the type to talk numbers and I’d be surprised if there’s more than a handful of guys at Matchroom that would be privy to that kind of thing.

Luke Riches. My pal is the announcer on loads of Matchroom events.

Usyk has come out saying the offer from FW was unsuitable so they’ve made Joyce an offer.

They should call for purse bids as they need to do something to hurry it along.

maverick23 wrote: ↑17 Mar 2021, 08:03 Usyk has come out saying the offer from FW was unsuitable so they’ve made Joyce an offer.

They should call for purse bids as they need to do something to hurry it along.

Let's see what they offer Joyce..

Probably fight in UK still.

Usyk's promoter Alexander Krassyuk previously told Sky Sports why they deserve a 93 per cent share of the purse in a fight with Joyce: "[WBO president] Paco Valcarcel is a very fair and reasonable man! But the purse split is a matter of mathematics not of anything else.

"The calculation is very simple. Three last declared purses of Usyk plus three last declared purses of Joyce equals the total pot. Usyk's purse divided to the total pot multiplied by 100 per cent equals his percentage."

Joyce's manager Sam Jones previously said: "As for his talk about a 93/7 split, that is clearly ridiculous. We have the utmost respect for the WBO, one of the fairest sanctioning bodies in boxing, and we are sure they will come to a fair and appropriate purse split if the matter does go to purse bids."

Krassyuk replied: "Mathematics cannot be ridiculous."

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑17 Mar 2021, 09:29 "The calculation is very simple. Three last declared purses of Usyk plus three last declared purses of Joyce equals the total pot. Usyk's purse divided to the total pot multiplied by 100 per cent equals his percentage."[/i]

What's an example of this..

Let's just say hypothetical purses for prev 3 fights.

Usyk: £3m + £1m + £2m = £6m
Joyce: £1m + £500k + £400k = £1.9m

Total pot: £7.9m

Usyk's purse divided to the total pot multiplied by 100 per cent equals his percentage

6,000,000 divided by 7,900,000 x 100 = 76%

Joyce would be 1,900,000 divided by 7,900,000 x 100 = 24%

So Usyk's purse would be around £6,004,000
and Joyce would come away with £1,896,000
--------

Never mind.. I worked it out..

Wow! What do people thing of this way of working out purse splits before going to purse bids of course.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑17 Mar 2021, 09:37

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑17 Mar 2021, 09:29 "The calculation is very simple. Three last declared purses of Usyk plus three last declared purses of Joyce equals the total pot. Usyk's purse divided to the total pot multiplied by 100 per cent equals his percentage."[/i]

What's an example of this..

Let's just say hypothetical purses for prev 3 fights.

Usyk: £3m + £1m + £2m = £6m
Joyce: £1m + £500k + £400k = £1.9m

Total pot: £7.9m

Usyk's purse divided to the total pot multiplied by 100 per cent equals his percentage

6,000,000 divided by 7,900,000 x 100 = 76%

Joyce would be 1,900,000 divided by 7,900,000 x 100 = 24%

So Usyk's purse would be around £6,004,000
and Joyce would come away with £1,896,000
--------

Never mind.. I worked it out..

Wow! What do people thing of this way of working out purse splits before going to purse bids of course.

I think it’s a stupid way to work out purse splits as I would have though very few fighters would be happy getting 7% of a purse bid. Saying that Yildirim should have got less than 7% of what Canelo did a few weeks back (aware it wasn’t a purse bid but the talk is that he got $2m for it).

I would question the numbers you have for Joyce. I’d be surprised if he got £1m for Dubois and amazed if he got £400k/£500k for Jennings/Wallisch respectively.

Total bullshit way to work out a purse.

Firstly it takes two to tango and secondly historical purses aren’t necessarily an indicator of current market value.

Usyks stock dropped after Chisora I would say, where as Joyce’s increased significantly after Dubois.

Fighters are at different stages in their career plus we are in the midst of a pandemic .

Joyces last two fights were impacted by CV19, it’s well documented he took a pay cut vs Dubois to get the fight over the line, Wallisch was a last minute ticking over fight so neither reflect market rate I would say

Two of Usyks last 3 fights were against UK cash cows in Chisora and Bellew and the purses were more an indicator of DC and TBs ability to sell PPV rather than Usyks marketability.

Joyce needs to tell WBO / Team Usyk to do one.