Dillian Whyte has been forced to withdraw from his heavyweight fight against Joe Joyce.
The Whyte vs Joyce match was scheduled to be the main event in Manchester on April 5th. However, Whyte suffered a significant finger injury during training and will be unable to compete on that date.
Promoters are now looking for a replacement opponent for Joe Joyce for the event.
Whyte’s last fight was in Gibraltar in December, where he defeated Ebenezer Tetteh. This fight with Joyce would have marked his return to boxing in Britain since 2022, when he narrowly defeated Jermaine Franklin by majority decision.
Whyte was previously scheduled for a rematch with Anthony Joshua in 2023, but it was cancelled after an adverse finding in a drug test.
Although Whyte has since been cleared to box, this injury setback will further delay his comeback to top-level heavyweight boxing.
Joe Joyce was also planning to have a warm-up fight but ultimately did not compete last weekend as initially planned. He is still expected to fight on April 5th, aiming to bounce back from his defeat to Derek Chisora last July.
Queensberry Promotions, the organizers of the April 5th event, announced in a statement: ‘Due to a hand injury sustained during training camp, Dillian Whyte is no longer able to participate in his scheduled fight against Joe Joyce on April 5th at the Co-Op Live in Manchester.’
‘A replacement opponent for ‘The Juggernaut’ is currently being finalized, and an announcement will be made shortly.’
