Dillian Whyte has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming heavyweight clash with Joe Joyce due to a hand injury, Queensberry Promotions have confirmed.
Whyte (31-3, 28KOs) was set to headline a huge British heavyweight card in Manchester on April 5 against Joyce (16-3, 15KOs).
"Due to a hand injury sustained during training camp, Dillian Whyte is no longer able to compete in his scheduled bout on [April 5] against Joe Joyce at Co-Op Live in Manchester," a statement said.
Queensberry have confirmed that Joyce will still fight on the card, with a new opponent being finalised.
The withdrawal comes as a huge blow to Whyte, who is looking to kick-start his career after a period of inactivity.
The bout was set to be Whyte's first with Frank Warren's Queensberry after the two parties had been "repairing some damage."
"We've had a couple of lunches, I've met him and his family for lunches, my team gets on well with him," Whyte told ESPN last month.
"It's been a long time, couple of years working the relationship, repairing some damage between me and him, obviously we've knocked it a couple of times but there's a mutual respect, the stars aligned and everything connected."
However, his Queensberry debut will have to wait.
Joyce, meanwhile, is coming off three defeats in his past four fights.
He lost on points to Derek Chisora in a savage fight in July, which came after back-to-back knockout defeats to Zhilei Zhang.