JOE JOYCE has slammed Tyson Fury over broken promises and the collapse of his fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
Joyce is currently the WBO interim champion and mandatory challenger for the belt held by Usyk.
But he has been made to wait for his shot, as the Ukrainian looked set to unify the division with Fury.
Although talks for their four-belt undisputed decider – the first in heavyweight history – broke down amid a row over financials.
And Fury failed to follow up on his vow to fight Joyce if the Usyk bout was scrapped, leaving the 2016 Olympic silver medallist fuming.
Joyce told Pro Boxing Fans: “What about the Usyk fight then? He should’ve had that. What’s he been doing?
“He said he wanted to fight me; he was going to fight me. He talks a lot, but he needs to back it up.”
Talks for Fury’s historic title unification with Usyk fell apart at the 11th hour due to a disagreement over the purse split for a potential rematch.
So the Gypsy King is now left without an opponent but is set for talks next week to determine his return fight in the summer.
Meanwhile Usyk, 36, has been ordered into a WBA mandatory defence against Daniel Dubois, 25, with negotiations ongoing.
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Joyce, 37, returns tonight against Zhilei Zhang, 39, and a statement performance could pave the way for his anticipated title shot.
Promoter George Warren said to Sky Sports: “Joe is looking to put on a good performance, a devastating performance, like he did against Parker and keep building on that momentum.
“If Joyce comes through a tough fight with a big performance, he puts himself in that conversation.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
