Joshua reacts to $41million Fury vs Whyte purse bids 

Nigeria-born British boxer Anthony Joshua has said he is ‘happy’ for Dillian Whyte who will earn a career-high payday to fight Tyson Fury in April.

Talks had been taking place over a potential deal for Fury to face Oleksandr Usyk next in an undisputed title clash, with Whyte and Anthony Joshua being paid millions to step aside.

However, these talks collapsed and so the WBC pressed ahead with purse bids for their mandatory fight on Friday.

Warren won with a record bid of $41million (£30.6million) – confirmed to be the biggest purse bid in boxing history – while Eddie Hearn bid $32million (£23.9million).

Of Warren’s winning bid, 10 per cent is kept as a winner’s bonus, while the rest is split 80/20 in favour of defending champion Fury.

This means that Fury will receive $29.5million (£22million), Whyte will receive $7.4million (£5.5million), and the winner of the fight earns an additional $4.1million bonus (£3.1million).

Giving a brief reaction, Joshua said: “Even though Dillian Whyte is an enemy of mine, I’m low key happy for him.”

According to reports, the target date for Fury vs Whyte is April 23.

It’s known that the desire is for the fight to take place in the United Kingdom for Fury, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium understood to be the most likely venue.

This is due to the fact it has a roof and so can hold big events year-round.

However, other football stadiums may be considered with the spring date opening up the possibility of an open-air event.

Either way, Warren has confirmed that the official announcement for the fight will come next week.