'Old school fight' - Joyce to face Chisora in July

Joe Joyce will face British heavyweight rival Derek Chisora on 27 July in London.

Joyce, 38, is in the midst of a rebuild after successive defeats to Zhilei Zhang last year while Chisora has not fought since August 2023.

Chisora, who made his pro debut in 2007, has 47 fights compared to Joyce's 18, with 13 losses.

The 40-year-old veteran of the sport says he intends to have three more fights before retirement.

"Joe is not going to win," Chisora said at a news conference.

"He can train as much as he wants, but when it comes to the real grind of it, I'm more vicious than him.

"I fear no man. There's no feeling each other out in the first round - I'm going in."

Despite only being two years younger than Chisora, Olympic silver medallist Joyce turned professional late after a lengthy amateur career.

Joyce stormed through the rankings, securing a position as the WBO's mandatory challenger before succumbing to shock defeats by China's Zhang.

His promoter Frank Warren expects a classic affair at the O2 Arena, with both fighters known to be big hitters and relentless operators in the ring.

"This is a proper old school heavyweight fight that seems to have been a long time in the making," said Warren.

"I remember it being talked about strongly even before we teamed up with Joe and it has always struck me as a natural and obvious fight to make.

"Two top London heavies fighting it out for a place back at the top table promises to deliver a cracking scrap.

"The winner is right back in business, with no real place to go for the loser."

Joyce returned to action in March, stopping Kash Ali in 10 rounds.