Dillian Whyte pulls OUT of Joe Joyce fight just weeks before bout leaving rival in last-minute scramble to find opponent

DILLIAN WHYTE has pulled out his bout against Joe Joyce due to injury.

The 36-year-old was set to fight his London rival in a highly-anticipated all-British clash on April 5 in Manchester.

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Dillian Whyte has pulled out the bout[/caption]

But Whyte has reportedly pulled out the clash, citing an inflamed finger.

Joyce is still set to fight as the headline on the bill that includes former cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie facing Richard Riakporhe.

Chiefs are now scrambling for a new opponent to replace Whyte.

A source close Olympic silver winner Joyce told SunSport: “It’s gutting for Joe.

“He has trained – as usual – incredibly hard for this and Dillian was an ideal opponent.

“If there is one thing British boxing fans know about Joe, it’s that he will fight anyone and, thankfully, there are lots of good heavyweights out there.

“Joe has no interest in dropping below world level, so Filip Hrgovic, Jarrell Miller, the Daniel Dubois rematch, Joe will take on anyone.”

Whyte needed a marquee opponent after losing his last big fight to a failed drugs test.

The Body Snatcher had secured a mega-money rematch with Anthony Joshua at a sold-out O2 in August 2023.

But he failed a VADA test and the bout was binned at the start of fight week, leaving Robert Helenius to step in.

Whyte rebuilt with an untelevised fight in Ireland last March, beating Christian Hammer.

He was then in a slugfest with Ebenezer Tetteh at the end of last year in Gibraltar.

As for Joyce, he has lost three of his last four fights since claiming the vacant WBO interim heavyweight title against Joseph Parker in 2022.

He was defeated twice by Zhilei Zhang before responding with a victory over Kash Ali.

But Joyce then lost via a unanimous decision to Derek Chisora last summer in his last appearance.

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