The 39-year-old had been set for an all-British heavyweight showdown with Dillian Whyte, but a change of opponent was required after Whyte suffered a serious finger injury last month when it was crushed between two weights, causing a cut that went down to the bone.
Hrgovic has stepped in to take on Joyce, in what will be the Croatian’s first bout since he was stopped by Daniel Dubois in Saudi Arabia last June to lose his unbeaten record.
Joyce, meanwhile, comes into this fight having lost three of his last four bouts, and another defeat here would surely bring down the curtain on his career.
After back-to-back defeats to Zhilei Zhang, Joyce returned with an unconvincing win over Kash Ali, before he was then beaten on points by Derek Chisora last summer.
Joyce and Hrgovic fought in 2013 in the amateur ranks and it was the Briton who came out on top, a year after both took home medals from the London Olympics.
This card is Queensberry’s first show on DAZN, after they left TNT Sports to join the streaming platform earlier this year.
Joe Joyce beat Filip Hrgovic when the pair fought as amateurs in 2013
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Joyce vs Hrgovic fight date and venue
Joyce vs Hrgovic will take place on Saturday April 5, 2025, at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester.
Joyce vs Hrgovic fight time and ring walks
The main undercard is due to get underway at 7pm BST, but TV coverage of the prelims is set to start at around 4:10pm.
Ring walks for the main event are expected at approximately 10pm, though as ever those timings are subject to change.
How to watch Joyce vs Hrgovic
TV channel: The event will be broadcast on DAZN. Subscription plans start at £14.99 a month.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on the DAZN website or app.
Live blog: Follow all the action from the entire card with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog!
Joyce vs Hrgovic undercard
The main event is not the only fight on the card that has had to change.
Lawrence Okolie had been due to fight Richard Riakporhe, but Okolie pulled out with an injury picked up in training and Riakporhe will now not feature on the bill.
David Adeleye takes on Jeamie Tshikeva for the vacant British heavyweight title, while British Olympian Delicious Orie will make his professional debut earlier in the night.
Joe Joyce vs Filip Hrgovic
David Adeleye vs Jeamie Tshikeva
Jack Rafferty vs Cory O’Regan
Delicious Orie vs Milos Veletic
Khaleel Majid vs Alex Murphy
Royston Barney-Smith vs TBA
Mark Chamberlain vs Miguel Angel Scaringi
Ramtin Musah vs Robbie Chapman
Louis Szeto vs Nabil Ahmed
Alfie Middlemiss vs Alexander Morales
Joyce vs Hrgovic prediction
Two years ago, Joyce was an unbeaten fighter who had just stopped Joseph Parker and was heading into a showdown against Zhang with a world-title shot firmly on the agenda.
But there have been three defeats since then and arguably more worrying has been the performances. So much of Joyce’s success in his professional career has been centred on a granite chin, with the Briton able to take remarkable levels of punishment and still keep marching forward.
That punch resistance, though, has seemingly dropped significantly. His style has inevitably caught up with him and he has looked incredibly vulnerable in his recent fights, getting ruthlessly stopped twice by Zhang and then dropped in defeat to Chisora.
Hrgovic is seven years younger and until his defeat to Dubois had been next in line for a world-title bout. That defeat to Dubois was a real slugfest, and one in which Hrgovic actually started well.
He then struggled as Dubois threw the kitchen sink at him and the Croatian was cut to both eyes, with the fight eventually stopped.
Joyce will fight at a much slower pace than Dubois and should be a fairly static target for Hrgovic to hit. Assuming the Dubois fight has not taken a lot out of the Hrgovic tank, he should be more than good enough to get his career back on track with a stoppage win.
Hrgovic to win by stoppage, round four.
Joe Joyce was dropped by Derek Chisora as he was beaten on points last summer
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Joyce vs Hrgovic weigh-in results
The fighters will weigh-in on Friday – check back in then for the official weights!
Joyce to win on points or by decision: 8/1
Joyce to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 9/2
Hrgovic to win on points or by decision: 5/2
Hrgovic to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 4/5
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
