EXCLUSIVE: Joe Joyce reveals he turned down ‘overpriced’ sparring session with Tyson Fury because the Gypsy King demanded £10k-A-ROUND… before branding the Brit ‘strange’ for walking away from an undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk
- Tyson Fury offered to spar Joe Joyce but was asking for £10,000-a-round
- Joyce will go toe-to-toe with Zhilei Zhang at Wembley’s OVO Arena this weekend
- Zhang stop the 38-year-old inside six rounds during their first fight in April 2023
- Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here
Joe Joyce turned down the opportunity to spar Tyson Fury because the Gypsy King was demanding £10,000-a-round ahead of his rematch with Zhilei Zhang this weekend.
Fury offered to help Joyce prepare for his rematch after watching the Juggernaut sustain an extensive amount of damage to his eye during their first bout.
The Gypsy King was adamant he could help Joyce reclaim his position at the top end of the heavyweight division despite watching Zhang emerge victorious inside six rounds.
However, the Juggernaut turned down the opportunity to spar with Fury as he said it was ‘overpriced’ at £10,000-a-round.
Joyce is looking to reclaim his position at the top end of the heavyweight decision when he goes into an immediate rematch with Zhang on September 23 at Wembley
Speaking exclusively to Mail Sport, Joyce said: ‘No I wouldn’t spar him for a number of reasons. Number one, it’s overpriced. £10,000 a round is not really worth it. And then, number two, I have already sparred him.
Joe Joyce turned down a sparring sessions with Tyson Fury because the Gypsy King was demanding £10,000-a-round ahead of his rematch with Zhilei Zhang this weekend
Joyce (left) and Zhang (right) will go toe-to-toe this weekend at Wembley’s OVO Arena
‘I know it would be good preparation but that would be a fight I want to take as my next fight or my next couple of fights.
‘I don’t want to go and give him all of my tactics. It’s just a bad idea to go and spar someone you are going to fight.’
Joyce also vented his frustrations over the fact Fury walked away from a bout with Usyk. He was hoping to see first undisputed heavyweight contest of the four-belt era.
‘It’s frustrating. I always thought the undisputed between Tyson Fury and Usyk would happen. I didn’t think it wouldn’t happen. Now that it’s not happening, it’s all a bit weird.
‘It’s strange he (Fury) hasn’t taken on Usyk after teasing him for being so small and keeps calling him a middleweight but then the fight just fizzled out. It’s disappointing for boxing fans’.
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