The purse bids for EBU heavyweight champion Joe Joyce´s mandatory defense against Marco Huck is postponed for a later date. 

Joyce will now, according to the EBU, make a voluntary defense of the title against an opponent to be announced on a Queensberry Promotion. show. Date and site TBA.

Joyce's promoter, Frank Warren, recently told BT Sport that his boxer would return in the summer - with Carlos Takam and Tony Yoka as target opponents. Yoka picked up a gold medal when he won a controversial decision over Joyce, who picked up silver, in the 2016 Olympic games. 

Joyce has been out of the ring since stopping Daniel Dubois in the fall of last year. 

The British fighter is also ranked at number 2 by the WBO - placing him in line for a crack at championship fight between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.

“Unfortunately with Joe, he had a really good win when he beat Daniel, and we’ve not been able to capitalize on it. The only way to capitalize on it, being number 2 in the WBO, he will become the mandatory challenger to the winner of Usyk and AJ if it takes place, providing they can agree terms," Warren said.

“If AJ vacates the title, then Usyk will have to fight Joe. But we can’t sit around and keep waiting, which we’ve been doing and doing. So Joe will fight either on the 24th or 31st of July and those two names, [Tony Yoka, Carlos Takam] are really on that list.

“He needs a big name, he needs to be in with a big name, and he needs to move forward. He wants to be out, he’s been very patient and we’ve had to work hard as I say to keep that position in the WBO. Now he’s gotta fight and he will be out next month.”

In other news, French promoter Allstar Boxing won purse bids today in Rome for the fight for the vacant EBU super welterweight between Dylan Charrad (20-0-1) and Spaniard Kerman Lejarraga (32-2) with an offer for a staggering 105,777 Euro to be split 50/50.

The normally mighty Matchroom came in second best with an offer for 101,777 Euro, while Spanish MGZ fell far behind with a bid for a more realistic 53,000 Euro.

Date and site is to be announced.