Dillian Whyte vs Joe Joyce headlines spate of British fight announcements

Dillian Whyte will box Joe Joyce in a heavyweight main event in Manchester, it was announced on Monday, as Queensberry Promotions confirmed several key match-ups for British fighters.

Whyte vs Joyce will headline a card at the Co-op Live arena on 5 April, with Lawrence Okolie facing Richard Riakhporhe in the co-main event.

Also on that card, 2024 Olympian Delicious Orie makes his professional debut, meaning it will be a night centred on heavyweight action; Riakporhe follows Okolie up to the glamour division for their grudge match, with each man having made his name at cruiserweight.

Then, in May, former undisputed super-lightweight champion Josh Taylor moves up to welterweight to face Ekow Essuman in Glasgow – with the date and venue to be confirmed.

On 10 May, Leigh Wood similarly headlines a local show, challenging IBO super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena.

Against Joyce, Whyte is seeking a fourth straight win since his knockout by Tyson Fury in 2022, when the “Bodysnatcher” failed to become world champion.

Whyte, 36, saw a rematch with Anthony Joshua collapse in 2023 due to a failed drug test – the second of his career – but an investigation deemed it the result of a tainted supplement, and he was cleared to box again in March 2024. He has won his two fights since, both via stoppage.

Meanwhile, Joyce is aiming to bounce back from a points defeat by Derek Chisora last July. The 39-year-old was, in fact, already due to box Patrick Korte on 1 March, and he will complete that bout before facing Whyte.

Elsewhere, Taylor is aiming to snap a two-fight losing streak. The Scot, 34, was outpointed by Jack Catterall in May, having lost his previous bout to Teofimo Lopez. Prior to those fights, Taylor won a highly controversial decision against Catterall in 2022.

Wood, 36, is moving up in weight to challenge Cacace, having vacated the WBA featherweight belt after his last fight. That result was a stoppage of Josh Warrington in October 2023, and Northern Ireland’s Cacace similarly beat Warrington last time out – outpointing the Leeds boxer in September.