The bout between Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora has been made official for Saturday, July 27. The pair squares off in the main event at O2 in London, England. The contest is scheduled for 12 rounds at heavyweight.
Joe Joyce (16-2, 15 KOs) makes his second ring appearance for the year and targets his second win in a row. The 38-year-old London native stopped Kash Ali in the 10th round in March. With the victory, the former interim WBO heavyweight champion rebounded from a pair of losses via stoppage against Zhilei Zhang.
Zimbabwean-British Derek Chisora (34-13, 23 KOs) scored a unanimous decision against Gerald Washington last August. Prior to that, the 40-year-old two-time title challenger was stopped by Tyson Fury in the 10th round.
“This is a proper old school heavyweight fight that seems to have been a long time in the making,” said Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions. “I remember it being talked about strongly even before we teamed up with Joe and it has always struck me as a natural and obvious fight to make.”
“Two top London heavies fighting it out for a place back at the top table promises to deliver a cracking scrap. The winner is right back in business, with no real place to go for the loser.”
The U.S. broadcast information for Joyce vs Chisora showdown is yet to be confirmed. In the UK the event airs live on TNT Sports.
The event also features unbeaten British southpaw Dennis McCann (15-0-1, 8 KOs) up against Ionut Baluta (16-4-1, 3 KOs) of Romania. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds at super bantamweight. The vacant European title is on the line.
The Joyce vs Chisora undercard is also expected to see super featherweight Archie Sharp (25-0, 9 KOs), welterweight Sean Noakes (9-0, 4 KOs) and super lightweights Aadam Hamed (1-0, 1 KOs) and Henry Turner (13-0, 5 KOs). Their respective opponents are expected to be confirmed shortly.