Joe Joyce will face Filip Hrgovic on April 5th in Queensberry’s first show on DAZN.
Joe Joyce has an unfortunate past few years, as following a tremendous stoppage win over Joseph Parker, ‘The Juggernaut’ took two back-to-back defeats to Zhilei Zhang.
His bad luck didn’t end there, as Joyce lost his first real fight since Zhang against Derek Chisora in a unanimous decision.
Despite this, the Brit fights on, and, after his original opponent, Dillian Whyte withdrew, he will now face Filip Hrgovic in a fight he hopes will put him one step closer to title contention.
Joe Joyce wants to settle the score with Oleksandr Usyk
Three years ago, before the downward trajectory of his career, Joyce claimed in an interview that Oleksandr Usyk was the man he wanted to face, and that he believed he had what it took to claim the title.
Joyce fought Usyk in the amateurs back in 2013, but lost a unanimous decision to the Ukrainian after five rounds in York Hall.
With Whyte out due to injury, it seems Joyce has an even harder job of regaining his position as a title contender, as he faces the feared Filip Hrgovic next, who he also fought as an amateur.
Joe Joyce seeks to do the double on Filip Hrgovic
Just one fight before facing Usyk, Joyce won a split decision victory over Hrgovic in 2013.
Hrgovic is now 17-1 as a professional, having lost his latest contest to Daniel Dubois. Hrgovic claimed he’d retire if he lost to Dubois, but is back once again to continue his career.
The Croatian holds a win over Zhilei Zhang, and was the first man to defeat the ‘Big Bang’.
He hopes to make the score one apiece with a win over Joyce in April.