By Tim Royner: Tyson Fury wants Joe Joyce to face heavyweight Daniel Dubois in his next fight now he’s no longer facing Marco Huck on January 11 in Hannover, Germany. The former WBO cruiserweight champion Huck (41-5-1, 28 KOs) broke his right hand in sparring, and he’s pulled out of his scheduled match for the EBU title against Joyce.
In the meantime, Fury thinks it’s a dandy idea for Joyce (10-0, 9 KOs) to use the unbeaten 22-year-old Dubois (14-0, 13 KOs) as the replacement in the first quarter of 2020. Joyce, 34, is getting old now, and he can’t just sit on the shelf for the next six to eight months while he waits for Huck to come back from his broken right hand.
Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren is open to a fight between him and Joyce for April at the O2 in London. Warren also likes the idea of Dubois fighting Dereck Chisora or Dillian Whyte next. It’s unclear whether their promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing would be willing to let either of them face Dubois. He’s a bad style match-up for those aging heavyweights. With Dubois’ punching power and size, he’d be terrible nightmare for Whyte and Chisora.
“We are going to do a big show at the O2 Arena in April which will feature Daniel and I hope it will be a big fight for him,’ said Warren via the metro.co.uk. ‘We have made offers to a lot of top British guys. We have offered Derek Chisora. ‘He’d have no problem facing a Dillian Whyte or a Joe Joyce.’
Fury hopes Joyce will face Dubois now
“This is Tyson Fury AK ‘The Gypsy King;'” I just heard that Joe Joyce’s fight is off with Marco Huck for the European title. So maybe Joyce can fight Dubois for the European title. That would be a fantastic match-up, a great one,” said Fury.
👀 @Tyson_Fury @JoeJoyceBoxing @DynamiteDubois pic.twitter.com/qIEZ7QEvlH
— Frank Warren (@frankwarren_tv) December 23, 2019
The 2016 Olympian Joyce has been brought along carefully by his management since turning professional in 2017. Although he’s faced a number of well known heavyweights, they’ve largely been old timers past their prime. Joyce’s last performance against Bryant Jennings was absolutely dreadful last July.
The Juggernaut was beaten to the punch all night by the New Yorker, but he still ended up winning a 12 round decision. Jennings wore Joyce down with his pressure, and him looking exhausted and hurt in the championship rounds.
Joyce has wins over these fighters:
- Alexander Ustinov – 43-years-old
- Bermane Stiverne – 41
- Bryant Jennings – 35
- Joe Hanks – 36
- Ian Lewison – 38
- Donnie Palmer – 36
- Ivica Bacurin – 37
In looking at the ages of Joyce’s opposition, there’s obviously a pattern here with the way he’s been matched. 7 of Joyce’s 10 opponents since turning professional have been old timers, and you have to wonder why.