By Kenneth Friedman: Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois and Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce met on Friday for their kickoff news conference to announce their fight on April 11 on BT Sport Box Office at the O2 Arena in London, UK. During their face off at the press conference, the 6’5″ Dubois (14-0, 13 KOs) suddenly shoved Joyce (10-0, 9 KOs) after he crowded him. The fighters were quickly separated by their teams.
Was Dubois’ shove an acting job?
It did look more than a little staged on Dubois’ part, but you never know. He’s not exactly the most outgoing fighter. You can’t really tell for sure if this was a theatrical move on the 22-year-old part. Joyce, 34, was in his space and leaning forward while trash talking him something fierce.
The Juggernaut Joyce says he could get a world title shot with a victory over Dubois. That’s hard to see happening, since IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and WBC champ Deontay Wilder are seemingly all booked up with fights in 2020.
Joyce can’t afford a loss
This is going to be a good fight to tell where both of these guys are at in their development. It’s especially important for the 34-year-old Joyce that he wins this fight, because he doesn’t have a lot of time to rebuild if he loses.
The 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joyce was arguably already as good as he’ll ever be when he turned pro three years ago in 2017. Right now, Joyce needs the opportunity to fight for a world title before he starts deteriorating due to his advancing age. The 22-year-old Dubois is young enough to learn from a loss, and come back better potentially.
There’s been talk about Joyce and Dubois fighting each other since last year, but it took a little longer than expected to make the fight. Dubois has looked great lately in beating Nathan Gorman, Kyotaro Fujimoto, Ebenezer Tetteh, and Richard Lartey. For his part, Joyce has put together 4 impressive wins in beating Bryant Jennings, Alexander Ustinov, Bermane Stiverne and Joe Hanks.
Joyce convinced his engine will lead him to victory
“My experience, my engine, my endurance and my toughness,” said Joyce in talking to IFL TV about what gives him the edge in this fight with Dubois. “I’m going to train hard and get the stoppage. It’s his [Dubois] first real fight, and it’s a massive step up for him. Obviously my pedigree is going to be one of the key factors.
“I might have to take a few heavy shots, but I’m going to find a way to win,” said Joyce. “Sam [Jones] has got some great sparring plans. So we’re going to tick all the boxes in training camp to make sure I’m 100 percent going in to take it with both hands to be victorious.
“It’ll be such a great feeling when I beat Daniel,” said the Juggernaut Joyce “It’s going to have a massive effect for my career, and future fights. Frank was talking about a world title shot straight after [the Dubois fight] potentially. It’s going to be a big year 2020,” said Joyce.
Most fans believe that Joyce’s best shot at winning this fight is to take Dubois to the later rounds, and wear him down with a fast pace. Dubois has scored a lot of early knockouts against subpar opposition in his three-year pro career, and he’s not been forced into a face paced fight.
Joyce has slow hand speed, but he’s someone that is always pressuring his opponents and throwing constant punches.
Tensions are rising 😳
Daniel Dubois shoves Joe Joyce after arguing about who is going to knock who out 👀
Expect fireworks on April 11th 🔥 #DuboisJoyce pic.twitter.com/ACfGvTvzE0
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) February 7, 2020
Dubois: I’m a better fighter than Joyce
“We’ve got history, and we sparred quite a few times up in Sheffield,” said Dubois to secondsout on Joyce. “Although I was only 17 at the time, and I was just a kid. I’m a different animal now. Come fight time, I’m going to put him to sleep, and solidify my position as a world title contender.
“I’m a better fighter than him, period,” said Dubois. “I’ll come down to boxing ability, and I’m looking forward to this one. I’m going to challenge myself, and it’ll answer questions of what I can do. His fans will become my fans afterwards, and we’ll take on whoever’s next. That’s how boxing works.
“Well, if you look at Mike Tyson, he was world champion at 20,” said Dubois when asked if he’s too young to win a heavyweight world title. “I’m 22, so we’re going to see if I’m ready or not, and I’m looking forward to proving I am. If you want to see a proper fight, you’ve got to tune in to this one,” said Dubois on his match with Joyce.
Dubois probably is a better fighter in terms of his boxing skills than Joyce, but he still could lose. Boxing is a cardio sport, and Joyce has got an incredible engine that enables him to wear down his opponents.
It’ll be interesting to see how Dubois reacts to that kind of nonstop attack. If Joyce doesn’t get taken out immediately, Dubois may have a real fight on his hands.
Daniel Dubois sees win over Joyce propelling his career
“This one is going to be an amazing night of boxing,” said Dubois. “Come and watch this. I’m going to knock out Joe, and finish him and put him to sleep. It’s going to be exciting while it lasts. It is that kind of fight,” said Dubois when asked if he views his fight with Joyce as similar to Anthony Joshua’s match against Dillian Whyte in 2015.
“You can go further in comparing it to Lennox Lewis and Gary Mason. There are so many other fighters that have reached this point in their career where they need a win that is going to propel them forward massively, and this is the one,” said Dubois in his fight with Joyce.
A victory for Dubois will definitely push him up the rankings, but it’s no guarantee of success when/if he gets in with the likes of Joshua or Wilder.
It’s probably too late for Dubois to ever get a fight against Tyson Fury, as he’s talking about retiring after 3 more fights. But Dubois can definitely challenge for a world title if he grab a #1 ranking, and a mandatory spot.
Given that Dubois isn’t with Matchroom Boxing, it’s unlikely that he’ll get a world title by Joshua in one of his optional title defenses. Dubois is probably going to need to become a mandatory to Joshua before he’s given a crack at a world title. That could take as long as two years depending on who Dubois faces in the second half of 2020.
Hearn on Dubois vs. Joyce: Will be RIDICULED for being PPV
“It’s a good fight,” said Hearn to secondsout on the Dubois vs. Joyce fight. “The amount of stick I get for cards top to bottom for pay-per-view. I’m presuming that card is going to get ridiculed for being pay-per-view, but it’s a good fight. It’s two guys that are unproven, but two British heavyweights. It is a good fight,” said Hearn on the Dubois-Joyce clash.
It does seem a little odd that Dubois-Joyce is on BT Box Office PPV, but perhaps it’ll do well. We’ll see if this was the right move or not. The organizers of this event must have a pretty good idea on whether the boxing public will be willing to purchase the Dubois vs. Joyce fight on pay-perview.