Heavyweight Division

[diehard]

He looked ok against Hammer. Of course, so does everyone. I do think he could give Whyte and DDD trouble, and probably beat them. JP/Hughie II? No, please.

[diehard]

Blah, blah, blah:

Tyson Fury Update

Looks like a proposed summer fight between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former unified champion Andy Ruiz is off the table, reportedly due to Ruiz’ financial demands. Fury could still could potentially face Zhilei Zhang provided Joe Joyce, who recently activated a rematch clause, will step aside.

Earlier this year, talks fell through for a match between Fury and WBA/IBF/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk, although that fight may still take place in December in Saudi Arabia as part of a potential doubleheader of Fury-Usyk and Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder.

[bart]

Tyson says this about anyone who is a possible threat.
Will now say he needs a keep busy fight v a Top 15 nobody.
Surely he must fight a mandatory at some stage soon

[diehard]

Chisora IV available, or has he retired? I think Fury beats everyone out there, so what is he afraid of? Money?

[bart]

I don't know if he has the drive to train hard or put his rep on the line unless its mega money

[bart]

U are right though I think Fury beats pretty much every HW , the only 1 that could test him skillwise and mentally is the 1 he ran from .....Uysk

[diehard]

All are intriguing match-ups for Fury. Can Fury man-handle Usyk? Can he take JJ's relentless pressure? Are Zhang's punches and size a problem for Fury? We know that Wilder can knock him down, and Wallin can make him bleed. Ruiz? Nah. AJ? Nah.

Come on man, pick someone.

[bart]

I think the Zhang news was just for media Fury was never fighting Zhang before JJ has his rematch
JJ is locked into that rematch
Fury trying to demoralize Usyk
Ruiz has the Ranking (#3 I think) so should be the go to- he has no fight arranged although possibly aa fight in court with his Mrs.
Fury always says he would fight any man anywhere - he doesn't care about the $ but the constant excuse for him not fighting top ranked guys is him saying they want too much of his pie..
I think he has lost to stomach for tough fights, as much as he beat Wilder those fights took a large part of him

[diehard]

Usyk-Dubois to go to purse bid

The World Boxing Association (WBA) ordered a purse bid between heavyweight super champion Oleksandr Usyk and his mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois, which will take place on May 25 in Houston, Texas. The minimum bid to obtain the rights to the fight will be $1,000,000.00 and the split will be 75% for Usyk and 25% for Dubois.

The bout is part of the WBA’s World Championship Reduction Plan and pits the super champion against the regular champion to define a single monarch in the category.

[diehard]

Joe Joyce on Zhang Rematch: Hopefully We Can Rectify [Mistakes]; Come Back Bigger and Stronger
BY SEAN NAM
Published Wed May 17, 2023, 10:22 AM EDT

Nothing problematic immediately came to the mind of Joe Joyce with regards to his last training camp.

The British heavyweight contender is looking to rectify the results of his last outing, a surprising sixth-round stoppage to Chinese southpaw Zhilei Zhang last month at Copper Box Arena in London.

Joyce, who was pinned as the heavy favorite going into that fight, absorbed repeated left hands, to the point that his right eye was nearly shut and the shade of deep purple. In the end, referee Howard Foster waived off the bout.

The win has boosted the career of the unsung Zhang, who, in the wake of the upset, has called out several of the elites of the heavyweight division, including WBC titlist Tyson Fury.

But earlier this month, Joyce activated his immediate rematch clause. Joyce is promoted by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions.

In a recent interview, Joyce was asked if anything went awry during his preparation for the Zhang fight and the heavyweight simply demurred.

“Preparation was good sparring southpaws,” Joyce told iFL TV. I had a number of different ones. …I dunno.

“You can nitpick my performance, my participation in the camp, you can nitpick with my coaches and my team, what went wrong there.

"We had a conversation with [handlers] Adam [Morallee] and Shane [Watson] the other day about all these things and hopefully we can rectify them going forward and making improvements where needed. So, like next time around, not make the same mistakes and come in bigger and stronger and harder hopefully.”

“[Zhang] showed what he’s made of and really showed that he’s a proper heavyweight that hasn’t really been given much opportunity. He’s kind of late into his career and I gave him that opportunity to my detriment and freaking got stopped, didn’t I? Obviously, I’ve gotta come back from that and come in stronger.”