Whyte to fight Joyce in Manchester in April

Whyte (left) has won 31 fights and lost three, while 2016 Olympic silver medallist Joyce has won 16 and lost three

Britons Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce will headline a heavyweight-stacked card at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena on Saturday, 5 April.

Olympian Delicious Orie will make his professional debut and former cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie will take on Richard Riakporhe, who also moves up to heavyweight.

In another date on Queensberry Promotions' schedule, Belfast super-featherweight Anthony Cacace will face Leigh Wood in a battle between two former world champions at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena on 10 May.

Later that month, former undisputed light-welterweight champion Josh Taylor will move to welterweight to challenge WBO European title holder Ekow Essuman in Glasgow.

Scotsman Taylor has signed with promoter Frank Warren's stable for his first fight since losing a rematch to Jack Catterall in May 2024.

The April card will be the first Queensberry Promotions event shown on streaming platform Dazn, as part of a new multi-year deal.

"We are starting as we mean to go on and, as you might expect, the heavyweights will play a big, big part in 2025 and beyond," Warren said.

Joyce could put coffee to sleep - Whyte

Whyte and Joyce shared several light-hearted exchanges and insisted there was plenty of mutual respect at Monday's news conference at the Co-op Live Arena.

Joyce is scheduled to fight Patrick Korte in Bournemouth on 1 March but is expected to cruise past the German, and vowed to then knock out former world-title challenger Whyte.

"The only man who can put coffee to sleep," Whyte replied. "He's a great fighter but a boring guy."

Former WBO interim champion Joyce's world-title aspirations were derailed after back-to-back stoppage defeats by China's Zhilei Zhang in 2023. In July, the 39-year-old was dropped and outpointed by veteran Derek Chisora.

Whyte has won 31 fights with three defeats, but 'the Body Snatcher' has not really been in a meaningful bout since he narrowly beat Jermaine Franklin on points in 2022.

The 36-year-old returned a positive drugs test before a rematch with Anthony Joshua in August 2024 was cancelled.

He resumed his career after an investigation found the "adverse finding" in a pre-fight test was caused by a contaminated supplement.

"I never said I'm the best fighter in the world but I come to fight," Whyte said.

"I'm here for my opportunity. The last year has been rough."

Domestic rivalries & a delicious heavyweight addition

Orie represented Team GB at the Olympics but did not win a medal

While Joyce and Whyte are nearing the end of their careers, Orie - who represented Team GB at the 2024 Paris Olympics - will begin his pro journey.

The 27-year-old snubbed a career in the scripted world of wrestling entertainment to join the boxing paid ranks.

"It's not been easy, starting boxing at 18 from nothing and nobody really cared but here I am today, and this is just the beginning," Orie said.

Two years after they were separated from a scuffle at a movie premiere of Creed III there was still plenty of needle as Okolie and Riakporhe came face to face.

"It's going to be left hand and right hand, and then you will hit the ground," Okolie told his opponent.

Okolie has his sights set on becoming a two-weight world champion but faces a fighter also making a jump up from cruiserweight.

"Finally we can settle the score once and for all," Riakporhe said.

Cacace v Wood - a battle of 'two warriors'

Cacace (left) boasts a record of 23 fights and one defeat, while Wood has won 28 and lost three

Cacace, 36, beat Joe Cordina to become world champion in Saudi Arabia in May 2024 before winning a non-title fight against Josh Warrington at Wembley Stadium in September.

He was due to face his mandatory challenger for the IBF title, Eduardo 'Sugar' Nunez, in his next bout but vacated his belt in pursuit of more lucrative fights.

Nottingham's Wood held the WBA featherweight title in 2023, but has not fought since beating Warrington in October 2023.

"They're two lovely guys but two unbelievable warriors. The fans are going to love this fight," Warren said.