JOE JOYCE has seemingly secured a more formidable assignment after it emerged just yesterday that his heavyweight clash with Dillian Whyte had been scuppered.
‘The Juggernaut’ was supposed to square off against Whyte, 31-3 (21 KOs), on April 5, headlining Queensberry Promotion’s first DAZN show at the Co-op Arena in Manchester, England.
With ‘The Body Snatcher’ suffering a hand injury during his training camp, however, he was ultimately forced to pull out of their scheduled showdown.
Joyce, 16-3 (14 KOs), meanwhile, was set to face little-known heavyweight Patrick Korte last Saturday, featuring on the undercard of Ryan Garner vs Salvador Jimenez in Bournemouth.
But then, it was revealed during fight week that the 39-year-old’s first outing since his unanimous decision defeat to Derek Chisora last July would no longer take place.
Instead, it appeared that Joyce was fully focused on his upcoming clash with Whyte, but must now cast his attention on a vastly different challenge.
A source has told Boxing News that Olympic bronze medallist Filip Hrgovic has been drafted in as an alternative opponent for the Londoner.
The 32-year-old comes off a punishing eighth-round stoppage defeat to IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, failing to maintain his unbeaten record last June.
But still, Hrgovic, 17-1 (14 KOs), has nonetheless proven to be a ferocious puncher in the land of the giants, and arguably represents a more dangerous opponent than Whyte.
So while an official announcement is yet to emerge, it would appear that Olympic silver medallist Joyce is set to take on his super-heavyweight rival from Rio 2016.
