Joe Joyce ‘to fight fellow Olympic medallist’ after Dillian Whyte pulled out of their all-British clash with a gruesome finger injury
Joe Joyce is reportedly set to face a fellow Olympic medallist next month after Dillian Whyte withdrew from their All-British showdown.
Whyte pulled out of their April 5 bout on Tuesday after crushing his finger between weights, with Mail Sport exclusively revealing how he suffered a cut down to the bone that also caused nerve damage.
With just one month to go until Joyce’s fight date in Manchester, Queensberry Promotions have wasted no time in trying to find a replacement.
According to The Sun, they have lined up Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic to fight Joyce.
Joyce and Hrgovic competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio in the super-heavyweight division, and both finished the Games on the podium.
Hrgovic secured a bronze medal after losing his semi-final to France’s Tony Yoka, while Joyce went one step further to claim silver before he was also beaten by Yoka.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW
Pictured above: the injury that caused Dillian Whyte to pull of his fight with Joe Joyce
Joyce has reportedly already found a replacement opponent after Whyte pulled out
Joyce is set to fight Filip Hrgovic (second right) who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics
The pair also have personal history after fighting one another in the amateurs in 2013 at York Hall, with Joyce emerging victorious via split decision.
Hrgovic will be out for revenge and is looking to get his career back on track after suffering his first professional loss against Daniel Dubois in his last contest in June 2024.
Dubois went on to demolish Anthony Joshua three months later, and Hrgovic could put himself back in the mix for a title shot if he can get past Joyce.
The newly-arranged contest will also be a crossroads fight in Joyce’s career, given he has lost three of his last four bouts.
The 39-year-old Brit was stopped twice by Zhilei Zhang in 2023, and was outpointed by Derek Chisora last year.
He could have chosen an easier opponent than Hrgovic after Whyte’s withdrawal, but instead insisted on fighting another world level contender.
A source close to Joyce told The Sun: ‘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.’
