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Joe Joyce vs Filip Hrgovic LIVE: Start time, odds, undercard and how to follow British heavyweight clash
Joe Joyce will face replacement opponent Filip Hrgovic this evening after Dillian Whyte was forced to pull out of the clash.
An all-British heavyweight bout was due to top the card in Manchester before the Body Snatcher withdrew from the event.
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As first reported by marvelbet369.com, Whyte was forced to withdraw after suffering an injury to his finger.
Hrgovic has been drafted in as a replacement opponent for Joyce as the Juggernaut bids to rebuild his career after losing three of his last four professional fights.
Damaging losses to Zhilei Zhang and Derek Chisora have left the 39-year-old's hopes of making it to a world title fight hanging by a thread.
Croatian Hrgovic suffered a first career defeat in 18 bouts against Daniel Dubois in June and lost to Joyce when they were amateurs in 2013.
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"It's a tough fight for both of them," promoter Frank Warren told Ring Magazine. "It's exactly the same fight Joe had against Dillian.
"The winner goes on and the loser is going to have to think about what he does."
At the weigh-in, Hrgovic came in at a career-heaviest 250.6lbs, but was still dwarfed by Joyce who is 275.lbs.
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Joyce vs Hrgovic: Date and how to follow
This 10-round heavyweight clash will take place on Saturday, April 5.
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It will be held at the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester.
The card is expected to get started at 6pm with ringwalks for the main event likely to be at around 10pm.
talkSPORT will have live commentary of the fight.
Our team consists of Adam Catterall, Paul Smith, Spencer Oliver and John Rawling, with coverage starting at 7pm on talkSPORT 2 and 9pm on talkSPORT.
To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
The event will also be after Queensbury struck a deal with the global streaming service.
Joyce vs Hrgovic: Undercard
Subject to change
- MAIN EVENT: Joe Joyce vs Filip Hrgovic
- Jack Rafferty vs Cory O'Regan
- David Adeleye vs Jeamie Tshikeva
- Delicious Orie vs Milos Veletic
- Juergen Uldedaj vs Gerardo Mellado
- Khaleel Majid vs Alex Murphy
- Royston Barney-Smith vs Cesar Ignacio Paredes
- Mark Chamberlain vs Miguel Angel Scaringi
- Nelson Birchall vs Rodrigo Matias Areco
- Alfie Middlemiss vs Alexander Morales
- Ramtin Musah vs Robbie Chapman
- Louis Szeto vs Nabil Ahmed
Filip Hrgovic dwarfed by Joe Joyce despite career-heavy weight as pair show off bulky physiques
Why did Whyte withdraw?
In an interview on talkSPORT, Whyte showed a picture of his finger injury and gave a full update on when he will return and the treatment he is receiving.
He said: "I was training as usual and there was a guy next to me in the gym and he dropped his weights and it rolled down.
"As I put my weight down, I ended up catching his finger between his dumbbell and my dumbbell.
"I still wanted to fight so I didn't tell my team, I had a few days off with a chest infection.
"But it cut right to the bone although I just thought I could get stitches and put it back in a glove again.
"It's cut down the first joint so it's hard for me to bend it and I can't clench my first properly."
GRAPHIC WARNING
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Whyte is now hoping to make a full recovery in the coming weeks and will look to reschedule a bout.
He revealed: "I'm seeing the specialist later this week just to see.
"I'm getting some feeling back, but I have been getting numbness in my finger.
"But my movement is coming back, it is cut to the bone so it could be nerve damage but we will see."
Joyce vs Hrgovic: What has been said?
Joyce has promised to not just win but knock Hrgovic out.
He said: "It’s a good fight, good entertainment. It’s good to be here and I expect a great performance.
“It's good to share the ring with Hrgovic again. We had a good scrap last time, like 12 years ago. The same result is going to happen. I'm going to win and then get elevated back up to the top of the sport.
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“I know exactly what to expect. I’ve fought him before. I've trained with Abel before so I know what to expect.
“I think it's going to be a great fight and I look forward to knocking him out on Saturday night.”
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