Dillian Whyte vs Joe Joyce headlines spate of British fight announcements

Josh Taylor, Lawrence Okolie and Leigh Wood also have bouts lined up in the coming months

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.

Dillian Whyte (left) will take on Joe Joyce in a main event in Manchester (Getty Images)

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.

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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.