Hall on 17 March against Donnie Palmer, Joyce stated that Chisora had rejected the offer to fight him. Joyce knocked Palmer out inside the first minute of round one at the O2 Arena. On 24 March, after Chisora knocked out his French opponent Zakaria Azzouzi and then called Joyce and Haye over during his post fight interview with Sky Sports. Prior to calling them over, Chisora referred to Joyce as a Chihuahua. Chisora first asked Haye if he had confidence in Joyce and then stated, "In front of the British public on live television, I’ll make a deal with you right now: if he (Joyce) beats me you write me a cheque of £1, if I beat him you give me your purse against Tony (Bellew) and your TV rights." Haye rejected the offer. Chisora then told Haye to not mention his name again. Haye told Sky Sports, "We offered him the same money he got for (Kubrat) Pulev, more money than he got for the European title, but you said no. Okay, we understand." Domestic success On 16 April 2018, it was announced a deal was in place for Joyce to challenge for the Commonwealth heavyweight title against Jamaican boxer Lenroy Thomas (22-4-1, 10 KOs). Two days later, Sky Sports officially announced the fight for 5 May. Joyce entered the ring wearing a sombrero. He knocked Thomas down three times before the fight came to an end in round 2. Two knockdowns came from body shots and the final knockdown came from a left hook to the head.. After the fight, Joyce stated he would like to challenge for the British heavyweight title. By winning the belt in just his fourth professional bout, Joyce broke a 106-year record. On 21 May, it was announced that Joyce would make a first defence of his Commonwealth title on 15 June at the York Hall in London, live and exclusive on Dave. On 8 June, Ghanaian boxer Richard Lartey (12-1, 9 KOs) was confirmed as Joyce's opponent. A day before the fight, Lartey was replaced by Croatian journeyman Ivica Bacurin (29-13-1, 18 KOs). In a non-title fight, Joyce knocked Bacurin out in less than two minutes. After the fight, there was talks around a potential fight with British champion Hughie Fury. On 18 June, Joyce said he was open to fighting American heavyweight Bryant Jennings (23-2, 13 KOs) on 18 August 2018