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As BoxingScene.com reported on Wednesday, Olympic silver medal winner Joe Joyce will take on former world champion Joseph Parker on September 24 at the AO Arena in Manchester exclusively live on BT Sport Box Office, promoted by Frank Warren for Queensberry Promotions in association with BOXXER.
The heavyweight collision between No.1 and No.2 in the WBO rankings, as well as being rated at No.2 and No.3 by the WBC, will represent a shootout to determine who will be made mandatory challenger for the winner of the forthcoming rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
Joyce, 14-0 (13 KOs), is the holder of the WBO International, WBC Silver and Commonwealth heavyweight titles, having recently relinquished the British. The 36-year-old was last in action at the OVO Arena, Wembley in July, emphatically defeating Christian Hammer via a fourth-round stoppage.
A wrist injury kept the Putney man out of action for the first part of this year.
Former WBO world champion Parker, 30-2 (21 KOs), won the title in 2016 with a points victory over Andy Ruiz in Auckland. He successfully defended against Razvan Cojanu and Hughie Fury before suffering defeat in a unification battle with Anthony Joshua in Cardiff in March 2018.
The 30-year-old is currently on a six-fight winning streak, following points loss to Dillian Whyte in July 2018, with the run including successive victories over Dereck Chisora, both in Manchester.
“This is a fantastic fight that really keeps the heavyweight ball rolling,” added promoter Frank Warren. “It has proved to be a little while in the making, but this is a match between two in-form and quality heavyweights fighting to be first in the queue for a world title shot.
“It is one the fans want to see so I am delighted to be taking this blockbuster fight to Manchester, the biggest indoor arena in the country, which we want to see packed to the rafters.
“Joseph Parker is obviously a well-known and highly respected fight figure over here in the UK, both for his exploits in the ring and him working alongside Tyson Fury up in Morecambe. He also looks a greatly improved heavyweight since teaming up with Andy Lee and his defeat of Dereck Chisora last time out was a comprehensive one.
“This is the perfect test of big Joe’s world championship credentials and victory over Parker would propel him into the top echelons of the division and right in the mix with the likes of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.”