Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora clash in an all-British heavyweight fight in London this weekend.
Saturday night’s intriguing main event is a potentially explosive showdown of two veteran brawlers who will be eager to put on a show and provide an emphatic reminder of their respective talents.
It’s simply must-win territory for Joyce, who flattered to deceive again in a laboured comeback win over Kash Ali in Birmingham in March, delivering a largely pedestrian display before eventually securing a late knockout.
‘The Juggernaut’, former WBO interim heavyweight champion, remains very much on the comeback trail after a brutal pair of knockout defeats by Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang in 2023 that saw him relinquish his undefeated professional record and appeared to end any hope of a full world title shot.
Turning 39 in December, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist has preciously little time to waste now if he is to still realise his ambitions at the top level.
Chisora is a year older than Joyce and is set for his 48th pro bout at the age of 40. ‘Del Boy’ had previously shown no signs of wanting to retire, but is now claiming that this will be his last contest before finally hanging up his gloves.
Chisora is almost a year removed now from his last fight, a tame 10-round points win over fellow veteran Gerald Washington on the Anthony Joshua-Robert Helenius undercard.
That bout came eight months after he was dominated and stopped while challenging Tyson Fury again for the WBC heavyweight title at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
‘War’ Chisora had earlier stopped a run of three consecutive losses suffered at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker (twice) with a narrow decision win over Kubrat Pulev that earned him the WBA International heavyweight belt.
Joyce vs Chisora date, start time, venue and ring walks
Joyce vs Chisora takes place on Saturday July 27, 2024 at the O2 Arena in London.
The early fights begin from 5pm BST, with the main undercard commencing at 7pm and main event ring walks expected at approximately 10:30pm.
As ever, those timings are subject to change on the night.
Joyce vs Chisora fight card/undercard in full
The chief support act on Saturday night sees Dennis McCann contest a rematch of his thrilling and brutal draw with Ionut Baluta from last August, with the vacant European super-bantamweight title on the line this time.
Undefeated super-featherweight prospect Ryan Garner is also in action against Archie Sharp, while rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma steps up a level against veteran former world title challenger Mariusz Wach.
Joe Joyce vs Derek Chisora
Dennis McCann vs Ionut Baluta
Ryan Garner vs Archie Sharp
Moses Itauna vs Mariusz Wach
Brandun Lee vs Juan Anacona
Raven Chapman vs Yohana Sarabia
Aadam Hamed vs Georgi Velichkov
Sean Noakes vs Inder Bassi
Royston Barney-Smith vs Brian Barajas
Umar Khan vs Kaddour Hmiani
Jermaine Dhliwayo vs Engel Gomez
How to watch Joyce vs Chisora
TV channel: In the UK, the card is being shown live on TNT Sports 1 with coverage beginning at 6:15pm BST.
Live stream: Subscribers can also watch live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
Live blog: You can follow Joyce vs Chisora and Saturday night’s entire fight card with Standard Sport’s live blog.
Joyce vs Chisora fight prediction
This fight very much has the feel of one that could be an absolute barnstormer between two hard-hitting heavyweights eager to show that they’ve still got it or a hugely underwhelming contest that shows their best days are firmly behind them, with little in between.
Those bruising defeats by Zhang took a lot out of Joyce and the lacklustre performance against Ali did preciously little to suggest that he can get back to his previous level and potentially still challenge for a world title in future.
The Juggernaut simply must step it up here with no excuses and emphatically defeat a dangerous and unpredictable opponent who will have no fears over taking the fight to him from the outset, particularly if it is really to prove his last dance.
Joyce has to quickly and sharply re-assert his authority from the outset, land some huge punches and prove that he still has a strong chin.
Joyce to win by late knockout.
Joyce vs Chisora weigh-in results
The weigh-ins for Saturday night’s card are due to take place on Friday. Check back in then for the results.
Joyce vs Chisora betting odds
Joyce to win: 2/9
Chisora to win: 10/3
Draw: 16/1
Joyce to win on points or by decision: 9/2
Joyce to win by knockout or technical knockout: 4/9
Chisora to win on points or by decision: 11/1
Chisora to win by knockout or technical knockout: 9/2
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
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