Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora are set to star in a slugfest at London’s O2 Arena this month.
At 38 and 40 respectively, it’s not a heavyweight bout many were calling for but one that will no doubt capture the attention of UK fight fans.
Chisora has won two from his last five, which includes back-to-back defeats at the hands of Joseph Parker, first by split, second unanimously.
Parker moved straight into a fight against Joyce in which he was knocked out after 11 punishing rounds. It was the win of Joyce’s career, but hopes of a world title shot were snatched by Zhilei Zhang, who stopped the Londoner not once but twice leaving his career on the ropes. He has since had a low-level win over Kash Ali.
Speaking to Boxing News, Parker gave his verdict on the bout, stopping short of making a prediction but seeming to lean towards Joyce.
“I think that Derek has been great for boxing and he’s still got the passion and the love for it, but I’m just not sure how much he has left.
It’s tough. Joyce is a big strong man who just keeps coming forward, but who knows. It’ll be interesting to see what his fights with Zhang took out of him. We saw him with Kash Ali – he got the win, but it wasn’t the most entertaining fight.”
Whilst ‘Del-Boy’ has made it clear he wants to reach 50 fights before retiring – this will be number 48 – Joyce still has dreams of a world title shot. With the Zhang losses and the lacklustre Ali performance, this is a genuine must-win for ‘The Juggernaut’ if that is going to be realistic.
