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Dillian Whyte, Joe Joyce finalizing all-British heavyweight showdown for Queensberry's DAZN debut

Mayo , Ireland - 17 March 2024; Dillian Whyte reacts after his heavy weight bout against Christian Hammer was stopped by Hammer's corner, resulting in victory for Whyte, after the third round at TF Royal Theatre in Castlebar, Mayo. (Photo By Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Dillian Whyte is gearing up for his 2025 return. (Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions is kicking off its DAZN deal with a bang.

British heavyweights Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce look to revive their careers when they meet in the headliner of Queensberry's first show on DAZN, which is being finalized for April 5 at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena, sources close to the situation told Uncrowned.

In November, Warren's Queensberry announced a multi-year deal with streaming service DAZN that begins April 1 of this year. There is scheduled to be a press conference on Monday when Queensberry will announce its initial slate of shows, including Whyte vs. Joyce.

After losing his undefeated record to Anthony Joshua in 2015, Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs) embarked on an 11-fight unbeaten run that included wins over Derek Chisora (x2), Joseph Parker, Oscar Rivas and Dave Allen. That streak met a brutal end, though, when the Brit was knocked out by Alexander Povetkin in 2020. Whyte defeated Povetkin in the rematch in 2021 to reclaim the WBC interim heavyweight title, but then lost handily to Tyson Fury for the full world title the following year at Wembley Stadium.

Whyte, 36, was scheduled to face Joshua in a 2023 rematch, but news broke just seven days out that Whyte failed an anti-doping test, forcing him out of the fight. Whyte was cleared of wrongdoing in March 2024 after proving that a contaminated supplement caused his positive test. Since then, he picked up two low-key victories over Christian Hammer and Ebenezer Tetteh, all in pursuit of another major fight.

Joyce (16-3, 15 KOs), a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, holds knockout wins over Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker — both of whom meet on Feb. 22 in Riyadh for the IBF heavyweight title. He was in prime position for a title shot until suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Zhilei Zhang in 2023.

Joyce, 39, lost again to Derek Chisora this past July in a significant upset in London. Now just one loss away from potentially calling it curtains for his storied career, Joyce enters into another big-time fight against Whyte in April. "The Juggernaut" will also take part in a tune-up fight on March 1 against German heavyweight Patrick Korte.

That there will be several other heavyweight fights on the April 5 undercard, sources confirmed with Uncrowned.