Joe Joyce will fight Christian Hammer at Wembley Arena in London on 2 July, as the British heavyweight looks to edge closer to a shot at a major world heavyweight title.

The unbeaten Joyce (13-0, 12 knockouts) last fought in July 2021, stopping Carlos Takam in the sixth round.

Prior to that, Olympic silver medalist Joyce defeated compatriot and rising star Daniel Dubois in the 10th round of their clash in November 2020.

Joyce, 36, had been expected to take on Joseph Parker this summer, but the Briton will now face Germany’s Hammer (27-9, 17 KOs), who has fought the likes of Tyson Fury, Alexander Povetkin and Luis Ortiz.

Joyce’s promoter Frank Warren explained the decision to pair his fighter with Hammer, who came up short against the above three heavyweights.

“The most important thing is to get Joe active and confident again after injury,” Warren said. “Christian Hammer is an experienced campaigner who will provide a decent test and give him a good fight, but obviously we expect Joe to come through it successfully and then start preparing for a bigger showdown later this year.

“It was well documented that it was our intention to match Big Joe with Joseph Parker in September, but Parker has now opted to sign a promotional agreement elsewhere [with Boxxer]. Joe’s route to a world title shot does not revolve around Parker, and we have plans in place for a major fight for him in the autumn.”

Joyce, who is training in Las Vegas, said of his upcoming bout: “I’ve known about Christian Hammer for a while now. He has fought everybody.

“It is going to be a good fight, he comes forward and it will be exciting. It is one to get me ready for the next fights coming up.

“I’ve been out of the ring for a whole year now, so it will be good to dust off the gloves and shake off the cobwebs. It is going to be a big year – this year and next – with some great fights, and I just need to be in the right place.

“I have taken myself out to the right place with this training camp here to bring out the best in me.”

Full card so far

Joe Joyce vs Christian Hammer (heavyweight)

Jason Cunningham vs Zolani Tete (super-bantamweight)

Callum Johnson vs Igor Mikhalkin (light-heavyweight)

Nathan Heaney vs TBA (middleweight)

Marc Videl vs Mark Chamberlain (lightweight)

Micky Burke Jr vs TBA (super-featherweight) Henry Turner vs TBA (super-lightweight)

Tommy Fletcher vs TBA (cruiserweight)