Via Sam Volz: The undefeated Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker will make headlines on September 24 in a battle shown on ESPN+ at the AO Arena in Manchester, England. Battle cards will be shown on ESPN+ at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Joyce (14-0, 13 KOs) will have a chance to prove herself against one of the brightest contenders in heavyweight, former WBO champion Parker (30-2, 21 KOs).
The 36-year-old Joyce will want to prove that his tenth stoppage-time win over Daniel Dubois in 2020 is not a fluke. For his part, Parker, 30, will face his best opponent since consecutive losses to Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua in 2018.
The winner of the fight between Joyce and Parker will be at the top to challenge for the world title against one of the three champions in the tournament.
Also on the cards, former seven-division world champion Amanda Serrano faces IBF champion Sarah Mahfoud in a unification match. Serrano will fight for the first time since losing to Katie Taylor.
“It’s been a very tough fight, a very challenging fight, but a fight that I’ll be 100% ready for and a fight that I’m very excited about,” Joseph Parker said. Social boxing about his duel with Joe Joyce.
“I’ve been in some big fights, so my team and I know what to do to make these fights happen. It took a long time to end this war. There is no hatred or anger towards each other.
“Those are just two guys who want to fight at the top. #1 and #2 WBO. Just two guys wanting to fight. There’s not much to say because we’re not good at talking crap.
“Joe Joyce has a style. He’s moving forward and is very well motivated. He’s well-suited to go far, and he also throws a lot of punches and puts pressure on.
“When you see someone has a style and they don’t change, it’s better to have a plan. I gave that job to Andy Lee to come up with a game plan, and we’re doing things in the gym that we know will be very beneficial. Parker said.
