BoxRec

Joyce to fight replacement Hrgovic in Manchester

British heavyweight Joe Joyce will face replacement opponent Filip Hrgovic on 5 April at Manchester's Co-op Live arena.

Joyce, 39, was originally scheduled to fight Dillian Whyte before the Londoner withdrew because of an injured hand.

Croatian Hrgovic, 32, suffered a first career defeat in 18 bouts against Daniel Dubois in June.

"It's a tough fight for both of them," promoter allegedly told Ring Magazine.

"It's exactly the same fight Joe had against Dillian. The winner goes on and the loser is going to have to think about what he does."

Both men competed in the super-heavyweight category at the 2012 Olympics, with Joyce winning silver in London and Hrgovic claiming bronze.

Joyce, who beat Hrgovic when they were amateurs in 2013, is at a crossroads in his career. He was stopped twice by Zhilei Zhang in 2023 before losing to Derek Chisora in his last outing last July.

Former cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie has been ruled out of his fight with Richard Riakporhe at heavyweight after suffering an injury in training.

Warren said he is unsure whether Riakporhe - who has also stepped up from cruiserweight - will remain on the card, while undefeated heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma, 20, has been added to the event.

Good match.

About time... This has been talked about for years now. I think Hrgovic probably has more left tin him to beat Joyce now. Not sure if it would go the same way in Joyce's prime though. They also do have a similar style, Hrgovic moves a bit better though.

I almost don't want to see this because I don't want to see Joe standing there being pummelled anymore! Hrg is too big and strong to fight if you're not defending yourself.

I agree Hrg has more in him though and would love to see him in the mix again

Jimmy2025 wrote: ↑13 Mar 2025, 11:36 Good match.

X2
Way better than whatshisname.
If Joe insists on fighting, then this seems around his current level.

Intriguing fight, you’d think Joe would have to go some to beat this guy. Last roll o the dice

HRG probably too quick for slow Joe and I think will stop him .

if the card doesnt get binned by dazn which seems likely given how mediocre it is .

Think Hrgovic will stop Joyce in the Championship rounds. This might be a difficult watch.

Hope they can get Ituama a decent opponent. Something like a Jermaine Franklin should be ok.

Joe Joyce gets solid replacement for injured Dillian Whyte in Filip Hrgovic

Joe Joyce won’t have to worry about taking a step down in class after original opponent Dillian Whyte withdrew from their heavyweight fight on April 5.

Joyce, 16-3 (15 KOs), will face Filip Hrgovic, 17-1 (14 KOs), on that card, in a fight set for 10 rounds at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The crossroads fight was confirmed to Ring Magazine by promoter allegedly, who calls it “a tough fight for both of them.

“It’s exactly the same as the fight he had before, Joe against Dillian. The winner goes on; the loser is going to have to think about what he does.”

Hrgovic, 32, of Zagreb, Croatia, is looking to rebound from his first defeat, an eighth-round stoppage loss to Daniel Dubois last June in Saudi Arabia. The 39-year-old Joyce, of London, is fighting to regain his standing as a top heavyweight after losing three of his past four fights, including a 10-round decision loss to Derek Chisora last July in his most recent fight.

Whyte announced his withdrawal from the Joyce fight last week, citing a finger injury.

The April 5 date, which will be broadcast by DAZN, now needs to find a replacement co-main event after Lawrence Okolie withdrew from his cruiserweight bout with domestic rival Richard Riakporhe due to an unspecified injury.

I think it is a great fight, its better for Joyce to fight someone like Hrgovic now than waste more time going down the Whyte, Wallin, scene of "has been / never was" and conning his way to a big fight again.

Defeat against Hrgovic (particularly a clear one) and there is no way back.

For Hrgovic - I think he has been a little "forgotten" about since the Dubois fight - guys like Bakole, Wardley and even Chisora seem to be ahead of him in the pecking order of getting "big fights". I think many people have Dubios as the #2 Heavyweight in the world right now, but forget that Hrgovic was arguably ahead at the time of the stoppage, was quite a warm betting favourite going into the fight - and that was Hrgovic looking poor.

Hrgovic still has time to be a serious player in the division a win against Joyce in a high profile fight is a nice starting point. For Joyce, beats Hrgovic and he is legitimately right back in the mix - the winner of this fight could legitimately those knocking on the doors of eliminators (Kabayel, Wardley etc) and it would be considered a meaningful fight.

a true crossroads fight

Must be a rare occasion where the replacement comes in as a favourite. Can’t think of any other examples.

JC wrote: ↑14 Mar 2025, 17:00 Must be a rare occasion where the replacement comes in as a favourite. Can’t think of any other examples.

Maybe not bookies, but I know loads of people that favoured Bakole over Parker.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑14 Mar 2025, 07:11 a true crossroads fight

Indeed. Wonder if FW expects this to be tough and is rolling the dice and testing Joe to see if there is anything left OR he has heard that the Dubois loss knocked the stuffing out of Hrgovic, that he's barely been in the gym, lost all ambition and will weigh in a flabby mess?

Even though I like Joe, I hope it's the former and Hrg comes to win and we get a good fight.

I will make my prediction when I see Hrg on the scales.

Only Joe Joyce could end up with a much tougher replacement than the original opponent !

I applaud Joe's willingness to face tough tests. Others say they will fight anyone...Joyce does it

Good fight considering Whyte fell through with less than a month left.

Hughie Fury still needs an opponent for a few weeks time too.

Very fun 'Loser Leaves Town' type fight. Hrgovic is awful. His mauling, grabbing style plays into Joyce's hands, plus he gasses. I expect Joyce to win a decision.

I would not count Joyce out of this.

People do remember Joyce vs Kash Ali don’t they?

jameswilson wrote: ↑14 Mar 2025, 18:55 Good fight considering Whyte fell through with less than a month left.

Hughie Fury still needs an opponent for a few weeks time too.

Hughie is taking up the mantle of boogie man from Bakole.
Perhaps a rematch with Parker, the boogie man dispatcher?

And there's only one man on this forum brave enough to watch that fight

Itauma v Nelson Hysa on.

Suppose it's marketable as a step up for him. Opponent is ranked higher on Boxrec, Top 15 with WBO and 19 KO's in his 21-0 record.
Only opponents Hysa has fought that I recognise are a geriatric Danny Williams and pro loser Pavel Sour so am not expecting a long fight.

mickey1975 wrote: ↑15 Mar 2025, 15:40 Itauma v Nelson Hysa on.

100%? I heard rumours the other day, posted it on here and then got a call to delete it as it wasn't confirmed.

I hope Joyce can pull out one final good win, but it's dependant on whether his chin (and eyes) hasn't completey cracked because Hrg will be hitting him flush with that right cross from the start. Dubois stood up to it, I only hope that Joyce can and his pressure eventually wears down Hrg down, but have a feeling Hrg will see it through on pts.

Joyce comes across as a nice guy. He's never been a smack talker and has always been a bit painful to listen to, but I prefer that, the respect between fighters rather than the gobshitting. I didn't like some of the comments i've seen about him of late on social media, how punch drunk and frazzled his brain is etc. I can't remember which fight it was recently (might have been Beter v Biv 2) where the camera panned along the fighters sat ringside whilst some music played. All of them sat stoney-faced apart from Joyce, who was smiling away, bopping his head from side to side singing along. I found it quite funny but most of the comments on social media were along the lines of 'Joyce doesn't even know where he is!' ...'Been punched on the head too much!' etc. Fk off, he was just enjoying himself.
Wish he'd get a haircut though.

mickey1975 wrote: ↑15 Mar 2025, 15:40 Itauma v Nelson Hysa on.

Weird choice. Looks like they are just doing it for the boxrec points…

I think Hysa looks bad on paper at a glance… inflated record. 40….

But there are some positives which to me make him a credible: long amature career, so he can surely box a little, and smashing bracamonte in 2 rounds…

I would of liked better, but as long as if it’s an easy fight there’s a quick turnaround then I’m all for it.,