Veteran heavyweights Dillian Whyte (31-3, 28 KOs) and Joe Joyce (16-3, 15 KOs) will be trying to keep their sinking careers going when they meet in a 12-rounder on April 5th in the headliner of the ‘Heavy Impact’ card at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Last Chance Saloon?
Neither of these aging heavyweights can afford to lose, as they’ve both been dropped from the top 15 rankings. In the 36-year-old Whyte’s case, he’s not been fighting high-level opposition since being crushed by former WBC champion Tyson Fury in six rounds in April 2022.
Since that fight, Whyte has fought three times, beating these three lesser-ranked fighters: Ebenezer Tetteh, Christian Hammer, and Jermaine Franklin. Many fans believe Whyte was gifted a decision over Franklin in their fight in 2023, as he was outworked the entire fight and looked terrible. Despite never winning a world title, Whyte is wealthy, with a fortune estimated at $7 million per Celebrity Net Worth. Dillian being filthy rich might explain why he’s shown so little ambition since being knocked out by Fury. When you got that kind of money, it’s got to be difficult to get to the gym.
In the chief support bout, heavyweight Lawrence Okolie (21-1, 16 KOs) fights Richard Riakporhe (17-1, 13 KOs). The former WBO cruiserweight champion Okolie, 32, will be fighting for the third time at heavyweight since moving up in weight last year in May when he beat Lukasz Rozanski by a first-round knockout. The cruiserweight Riakporhe, 35, is coming off a narrow 12-round unanimous decision loss to Chris Billiam-Smith on June 15th last year.
Also on the card is heavyweight David Adeleye (13-1, 12KOs) fighting Jeamie “TKV” Tshikeva (8-1, 5KOs) in a 10-round bout.
“I’m delighted that we’re starting in April. We’re kicking off with a big heavy-duty night, ‘Heavy Impact,’ and we will make an impact, these guys will make an impact,” said Frank Warren to Boxing Social about the April 5th card, headlined by Dillian Whyte vs. Joe Joyce.
“It’s a crossroads fight for both of them. These guys are veterans, and they’re looking for their last big hoo-rah to get a shot at the title. This is the way forward for them to do it. These two guys [Joyce & Dillian] are looking to make a statement. The winner goes on. I don’t know where the loser will go at their age.
“I always say it’s not the end of the world for the loser, but this is a real, real tough fight, and they’ll give their all. We just had a great fight last Saturday night with a veteran, Derek Chisora, who fought in a very entertaining fight, a good quality fight. I think you get the same with these. Then you’ve got the two cruiserweight coming up.
Desperate Measures
Whyte and Joyce need a victory in this fight to keep relevant and make themselves available for more lucrative fights against some of the top names. For Dillian, there’s the potential of a rematch with Anthony Joshua or a trilogy against Derek Chisora. Joyce’s situation is more urgent, as he’s coming off a loss to Chisora and hasn’t looked the same since his back-to-back knockout defeats against Zhilei Zhang in 2023.
“You look at that, and you look at Lawrence Okolie. He made a statement in his last fight. He hasn’t got to worry about making the weight. He showed that in his last fight [Hussein Muhammad],” said Warren.
Last Updated on 02/10/2025
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