Undefeated British heavyweight prospect Joe Joyce is getting his real step up in competition for his next fight.
Joyce will defend his Commonwealth heavyweight title against former WBC world heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne on February 23. The fight will be a part of the undercard for the James DeGale vs. Chris Eubank Jr. fight taking place at the O2 Arena in London.
The 33-year-old Joyce, boxing in his eighth professional bout, will be fighting for the first time in the United Kingdom since this past June when he knocked out Ivica Bacurin in the first round. Joyce has won all seven of his fights inside the distance and is coming off a first-round win over Joe Hanks on the pay-per-card for Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury on December 1.
Stiverne, a former heavyweight champion, has not fought since getting knocked out in the first round by Wilder in late 2017. The two engaged in a rematch for the WBC title in which Wilder took the title from Stiverne in 2015 with a unanimous decision victory back then. Stiverne owns wins over Chris Arreola, Ray Austin and Derric Rossy, but has only won once in his last three bouts.
The event will also see the returned of former featherweight champion Lee Selby moving up in weight to compete as a lightweight. Selby, fighting for the first time since losing IBF title to Josh Warrington in May 2018, will take on twice-beaten Omar Douglas.
The O2 Arena card is the first PBC boxing event to take place in the United Kingdom since PBC and ITV signed an exclusive broadcast agreement to have PBC cards be shown in the U.K. The card will be shown on ITV Box Office.
