Frank Warren States Joe Joyce Willing To Step-Aside To Allow Undisputed Bout!
In the world of professional prizefighting the pressure is always on to win and to look good doing so. Yet, the WBO recently added more pressure to heavyweights Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce (12-0, 11 KO’s) and Carlos Takam (39-5-1, 28 KO’s). The sanctioning body achieved this by announcing that the winner of their July 24 bout will be crowned their mandatory challenger. At the moment unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22 KO’s) owns the WBO title.
Joshua has an upcoming bout with the WBO’s current mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk (18-0, 13 KO’s) on September 25. If successful, Joshua would love to resume his sidelined mega-fight with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. However, like Joshua, before Fury can think about anyone else he must first get passed former champ and nemesis Deontay Wilder in their rescheduled October 9 dust-up.
Provided both Fury and Joshua are successful, they would ideally meet to become the undisputed champion of the division. The two had worked a deal out to do just that before Wilder’s arbitration results killed those plans.
ONE FIGHT FOR IT ALL!
Obviously there is a chance that Usyk or Wilder could win in the upcoming prizefights. So even if Joshua and Fury lose their next bout, after their contests there will still be two boxers available to fight for the distinction of undisputed. Once that is done the WBO mandatory challenger will be in prime position to take on that champion.
With all these moving parts in play, Frank Warren, Joyce’s Queensbury Boxing promoter, has let it be known that his charge will not stand in the way of an undisputed bout. Yet, this is not a pure act of altruism; instead Team Joyce simply wants a single fight to challenge for all the titles!
“Look, we all want the undisputed and I don’t think anyone is going to stand in the way. Having said that other people have their careers and they’ll be moving forward. So it would seem that if Joe comes through and if Tyson and AJ get it on then maybe he [Joyce] fights for the interim title whilst the dust is going to settle.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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