Despite a laundry list of shenanigans, it looks like Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker might actually square off in the near future. Mike Coppinger reports that the pair have agreed to meet on September 24th at a UK location to be announced.
The bout will air domestically on BT Sport Box Office; no word as to a Stateside broadcaster, but history suggests it’ll be ESPN+, FITE PPV, or maybe FITE+. A press conference to formally announce the bout is scheduled for tomorrow.
Joyce (14-0, 13 KO) and Parker (30-2, 21 KO) have been playing the will-they-won’t-they game for the majority of 2022. A June date turned into a July date, which then got bumped to September to accommodate the birth of Andy Lee’s child, and then Parker appeared to blow it all up by signing with Boxxer. Subsequent jawing on social media appeared to confirm the bout’s demise, but somehow things have gone full circle.
Which is good, because all frippery aside, this is a damn good matchup that will almost certainly elevate the winner to WBO mandatory challenger. It just has to survive another seven-ish weeks.
