Joe Joyce to face Filip Hrgovic in mouthwatering heavyweight fight after shock Dillian Whyte withdrawal
JOE JOYCE will fight dangerous super-sub Filip Hrgovic on April 5.
The 39-year-old Putney heavyweight was scheduled to face Dillian Whyte in Manchester.
But 36-year-old Brixton brawler pulled out on Tuesday with an injured finger.
Joyce is rebuilding after a punishing summer loss to Derek Chisora and could have cherry picked an easier opponent.
But the respected Croatian, who won four of the early June rounds against Daniel Dubois before the Brit overpowered and stopped him in the eighth, has got the gig.
A source close to our 2016 Olympic silver winner told us: “It’s gutting for Joe, he has trained - as usual - incredibly hard for this and Dillian was an ideal opponent.
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“If there is one thing British boxing fans know about Joe, it’s that he will fight anyone and everyone.
“Joe has no interest in dropping below world level and choosing Filip Hrgovic, with an 18-1 record and only loss coming to world champion Dubois, proves that once again."
The clash is a tasty rematch of a 2013 amateur battle the pair contested at London boxing Mecca York Hall, which Joyce won on a split decision.
The 6ft 6in former rugby and diving athlete cannot face another belly flop, after back-to-back 2023 Zhilei Zhang losses and the July KO against Chisora.
Whyte needed a marquee opponent after losing his last big fight to a failed drugs test.
The Body Snatcher had secured a mega-money rematch with Anthony Joshua for a sold-out O2 in August 2023.
But he failed a VADA test and the bout was binned at the start of fight week, leaving Robert Helenius to step in.
Whyte rebuilt with an untelevised fight in Ireland last March and was in a slugfest with Ebenezer Tetteh in December in Malta.