JOE Joyce will face a new opponent on April 5. Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic has stepped in for Dillian Whyte, who withdrew due to a damaged finger.
Joyce and Whyte were set to headline in Manchester’s Co-op Live arena before Whyte’s injury left Joyce temporarily without a dance partner. Step forward Hrgovic, 17-1 (14 KOs), who was last seen losing to Daniel Dubois in round eight of their Riyadh clash last June.
Joyce, 16-3 (15 KOs), is also coming in off the back of a loss. ‘The Juggernaut’ was dropped and outpointed by a resurgent Derek Chisora in July, 2024. Joyce’s planned clash with Patrick Korte was canned at the beginning of the month so both men will arrive with the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths.
Joyce vs. Whyte would’ve been a suitably tasty all-British affair to kick off Frank Warren and Queensberry promotions’ new dawn on streaming broadcaster DAZN. If Hrgovic arrives fit and firing, he is an able replacement.
The 32-year-old appeared to struggle against Dubois once it became clear the British boxer was willing to walk through his right hands. Hrgovic’s gas tank faltered and he ran out of steam.
A prime Joyce once thrived on applying that kind of pressure. How much he has left to offer since the Chisora loss, plus damaging back-to-back defeats to Zhilei Zhang is an open question.
