Joe Joyce is reportedly set for a more challenging fight after his anticipated heavyweight match against Dillian Whyte was cancelled yesterday.
‘The Juggernaut’ was originally scheduled to fight Whyte on April 5, headlining Queensberry Promotion’s first DAZN event at the Co-op Arena in Manchester, England.
However, ‘The Body Snatcher’ had to withdraw from their planned fight due to a hand injury sustained during training.
Joyce was initially supposed to face Patrick Korte last Saturday on the undercard of Ryan Garner vs Salvador Jimenez in Bournemouth.
But it was announced during fight week that Joyce’s first fight since his defeat to Derek Chisora last July would not happen.
It seemed Joyce was fully focused on fighting Whyte, but now he must turn his attention to a very different opponent.
A source from Boxing News has indicated that Olympic bronze medalist Filip Hrgovic has been considered as a replacement opponent for Joyce.
Hrgovic, 32, is coming off a TKO loss in the eighth round to IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois last June, which was his first professional defeat.
Despite this loss, Hrgovic has shown himself to be a powerful puncher in the heavyweight division and is arguably a more dangerous opponent than Whyte.
While there has been no official announcement yet, it appears that Olympic silver medalist Joyce is likely to face his former super-heavyweight rival from the Rio 2016 Olympics.
