By Declan Taylor
JOE JOYCE is set to fight Kash Ali in his ring return this March.
The Juggernaut endured a nightmare 2023, with two inside distance defeats to Zhilei Zhang.
The second of those came in September, when he was knocked out inside three brutal rounds at the Wembley Arena in a defeat which appeared to leave his career hanging in the balance.
But the 38-year-old Olympic silver medalist has decided to go again and his comeback looks likely to take place on Queensberry’s March 16 date in Birmingham.
As reported by Boxing News this week, David Adeleye will challenge for Sol Dacres’ English title that night too and Joyce-Ali will provide more heavyweight action on the stacked card.
Those back-to-back Zhang defeats have left Joyce at 15-2 (14) and a long way back in the bustling heavyweight picture.
But he will now attempt to plot his path back towards the top against the 21-2 Ali.
The 31-year-old has not boxed since July when he lost on points after six rounds against Bohdan Myronets in Edinburgh but knows an upset against Joyce will breathe new life into his career.