Joe Joyce is ready to step in and face either Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk if the pair cannot settle on the terms of their heavyweight unification bout.
Fury, the WBC title-holder, and Usyk, who possesses the WBO, WBA (Super) and IBF crowns, have been seeking to agree terms for a fight on April 29.
Negotiations have stalled on multiple occasions however, while the pair have sparred verbally throughout, though it appears Fury will now take a 70-30 purse split.
WBO interim heavyweight champion Joyce, who is arguably the strongest mandatory challenger to either man, would be happy to square off if a deal falls through, though he would prefer to face an ultimate winner.
"It's [been] kind of dragging on a bit," he told Sky Sports' Toe2Toe podcast. "Fury's got 70 per cent [so] I guess it's happening now.
"He's started camp, [and] I would imagine Usyk's already in camp. Maybe he knows something we don't. Possibly, [I could fight one of them]. I guess it's a good back-up plan."
Reiterating he would prefer to wait though, the Briton added: "That would be something, wouldn't it? There's been a lot of rematch clauses of late. They drag on, don't they?
"It's quite refreshing to hear that there isn't one for this fight. I can jump in afterwards [and] fight the winner. I'm confident in my abilities and I think it would be a great fight against either of them."
On a preferred opponent, Joyce admitted an all-British clash thrilled him, adding: "I really like the sound of the Fury fight. Can you imagine? Undisputed has a nice ring to it."
Fabian Edwards expects to shed ‘a little tear’ if Bellator title bid succeeds
Fabian Edwards is a calm and composed character at all times but he confessed he could shed “a little tear” if he wins the Bellator middleweight title this weekend.
Edwards takes on the highly rated and undefeated Johnny Eblen at Bellator 299 at Dublin’s 3Arena on Saturday night, bidding to join older brother Leon, the UFC welterweight titlist, as world champion.
The younger Edwards recognises how far he and his sibling have come, from growing up in squalor in Kingston, Jamaica, to taking up mixed martial arts as a means of escaping gang culture in Birmingham.
He told the PA news agency: “I’m not emotional about it at all but on Saturday when I win that belt, I can’t promise you won’t see a little tear. It’s been a long journey.
“It’s really going to mean the world. I keep saying I’d be over the moon and all the usual stuff but I feel you can’t really put it into words.
“Once I go out there and I achieve that goal, I’d need to get a dictionary and look up a word in there that’s going to describe it but I probably won’t be able to find one.”
Despite a tough upbringing, Edwards has never lacked self-belief, even when his career was derailed following back-to-back defeats against Costello van Steenis and Austin Vanderford.
He rebuilt with three successive wins, beating two bona fide titans of the sport in Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi in the process, to earn his shot against Eblen.
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Edwards said: “I thought I’d never lose. I went undefeated for six years. But I still always kept the belief of knowing I was world class and knowing I could get a world title.
“I feel like my tough upbringing could have contributed to my confidence, going from Jamaica to here and even while I’m over here, going through a lot of stuff that’s going to build you to be solid.
“I’m one of those guys who wants to feel f****d in training, I want to mentally push myself to that point where I think ‘f***ing hell’ and then carry on doing it.”
While Eblen has won all 13 of his contests, Edwards suspects his American rival is too full of himself.
Edwards said: “He believes he’s better than what he is in all areas. That’s what going to play right into my hands. When everything starts falling apart in there, it will be too late for him.”
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This is Edwards’ first title opportunity but he was in Salt Lake City 13 months ago when his brother delivered the head kick around the world to win UFC gold, defeating Kamaru Usman in a shock upset.
He added: “If it’s him fighting I’m more nervous and he’s the same when I’m fighting. When you’ve seen someone work so hard, let alone if they’re your family as well, you just want the best for them.
“But my brother always says the same thing, ‘it’s just a fight. Stop trying to build up the moment bigger than what the moment is.’
“I’ll be fighting with all my heart and all of my might to beat this guy, it doesn’t matter what is on the line, when you have that mindset you allow the moment not to get the better of you.”
:: Tune into Bellator 299: Eblen vs Edwards live from the 3Arena, Dublin, on BBC iPlayer from 9pm on Saturday 23rd September
On This Day in 2018: Anthony Joshua stops Alexander Povetkin at Wembley
Anthony Joshua defended his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles with a seventh-round stoppage of Alexander Povetkin at Wembley on this day in 2018.
The then 28-year-old retained his belts after twice knocking Povetkin down to the canvas.
The British fighter earned his 22nd consecutive victory and remained unbeaten despite having his nose broken by the Russian in the first round.
Joshua fought back to win after knocking Povetkin down in the seventh round. The Russian beat the count of 10 before Joshua delivered a combination of punches to finish the bout.
After the fight, Joshua said: “Alexander Povetkin is a very tough challenger, and he proved that. But I’ve come in here to have fun, do what I’ve been working on in the gym and give it my best.
“I realised he was strong to the head, but I know that he was weak to the body, so instead of jabbing to the head, I was switching it up. He threw a good right, but let’s not worry about that, that’s out of the way.”
Nine months after his victory over Povetkin, Joshua suffered his first shock defeat after being knocked down by Andy Ruiz Jr in the seventh round before winning a rematch.
Last month, Joshua, now 33, produced a thunderous seventh-round stoppage against Robert Helenius to stay on track for a future bout with Deontay Wilder.
Eddie Hearn hopes returning Conor Benn can face Chris Eubank Jr in December
Conor Benn will make his comeback in Orlando on Saturday in his first bout since failing two voluntary drug tests and promoter Eddie Hearn says a clash with Chris Eubank Jr could happen in December.
Benn, who has not fought since April 2022 when he knocked out Chris van Heerden, has been cleared to fight Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco this weekend.
The 26-year-old saw his proposed bout with Eubank Jr last October fall through following two positive tests for the banned drug clomifene, which resulted in him being hit with a provisional suspension.
Benn promised to prove his innocence and, while he was formally charged by UK Anti-Doping in April, it was announced in July he had been cleared by an independent National Anti-Doping Panel.
Hearn, in Florida for Saturday’s bout against Orozco at Caribe Royale, said: “We want the Eubank fight. It’s the biggest fight in British boxing, outside AJ v Fury and right up there with it.
“We want to fight in the UK. Conor won his case. He was cleared, his suspension was lifted and I keep hearing this ‘he was not cleared’.
“If he wasn’t cleared he wouldn’t be allowed to fight on Saturday.
“The Association of Boxing Commissions would not lift their suspension of Benn until it was confirmed to them by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) that he was no longer suspended and therefore he was cleared to fight.
“So our plan, ideally, is to fight Chris Eubank Jr in the UK in December. We’ve already had offers from a number of international venues to stage that fight, but I would like to try and make that fight in the UK.”
UKAD and the BBBofC appealed against the decision to lift Benn’s provisional suspension last month, which prevented the son of former two-weight world champion Nigel Benn being able to resume his boxing career in his home country.
Benn and promotion company Matchroom have now decided to try and get his career back on track with a bout in the United States.
Mexican veteran Orozco has been drafted in as a last-minute opponent for Benn, whose fight will be the co-main event of a show also involving super-lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.
Hearn said: “We were made aware a few weeks ago or a month ago that there would be an appeal – we’ve heard nothing more, no dates for that appeal.
“We’re not sure if that will take place or when it will take place, but this man’s free to go back to work and that’s what we’ve decided to do.”
Benn said: “I am undefeated in the ring, and in spirit. A return on Saturday is a step closer to redemption.
“After that, I’m putting the 147-160 divisions on notice. You are looking at a determined man with a deep desire to beat them all.”
Even though Greenwich-born Benn (21-0, 14KOs) will fight for the first time in 17 months on Saturday, his fight to clear his name is not over yet.
Benn relinquished his BBBC licence after his bout against Eubank was scrapped and criticised the governing body’s handling of his case.
Benn’s positive tests were conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association for the WBC, which cleared the boxer of any wrongdoing in February, pointing to an “elevated consumption of eggs” for the findings.
Londoner Benn himself insisted eggs were never blamed in a 270-page report he sent the WBC, but he has repeatedly stressed his innocence, having faced a two-year ban.
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