THE ALREADY HUGE heavyweight showdown between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce at the o2 Arena on April 11 – live on BT Sport Box Office – has just got bigger with news that the vacant European title will also be on the line.
Joyce was originally mandated to fight Marco Huck for the coveted belt in January before the Berlin man succumbed to injury. The pair were set to fight following the vacating of the belt by Agit Kabayel.
The EBU have now determined that Dubois and Joyce, the two rising stars of the world heavyweight division, will fight for the European honour.
The big collision at the o2 now has the European, WBC Silver and WBO International, along with the British and Commonwealth titles riding on it.
The last British holder of the EBU belt was Tyson Fury, who defeated previous owner Dereck Chisora at the ExCel Arena in November 2014. Henry Akinwande, Lennox Lewis, Derek Williams, Frank Bruno, John L Gardner, Joe Bugner and Henry Cooper are amongst other British fighters to have held the heavyweight belt.
Promoter Frank Warren is delighted with the development.
“The EBU sanctioning this fight for the vacant title is the cherry on the cake,” said the Hall of Fame man, who is currently in Las Vegas with Tyson Fury.
“They have recognised the magnitude of the fight, the fact that it is between two unbeaten fighters who are the best two up and coming heavyweight forces in world boxing.
“I am particularly pleased for Joe given that his European shot didn’t happen in January, while for Daniel it nicely continues the ‘every belt’ journey we have set him on.
“Daniel vs Joe is a fight that you simply cannot afford to miss.”
Heavyweight Jeremiah Milton To Be Lead Sparring Partner For Joy Joyce As He Prepares For DuBois
LAS VEGAS, NV (February 20, 2020) Heavyweight Jeremiah Milton, who recently signed a managerial agreement with Victory Sports & Entertainment, is now in Las Vegas, Nevada, sparring 2016 Olympic Silver Medalist Joe Joyce (10-0, 9 KOs), as he prepares for his bout with Daniel DuBois (14-0, 13 KOs).
“It feels good sparring someone of such a high caliber like Joe Joyce,” said Milton after training. “I came in second at the Olympic Trials, which gave me a ton of confidence. Now that I’m working with a fighter like Joe Joyce, I am learning a lot, and we are going hard rounds. Not a lot of fighters get this much experience prior to turning pro.”
Milton, a 25-year-old amateur stand-out from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was a silver medalist at the Olympic Trials and won the Western Qualifiers in 2019, is ready to take his career to the next level.
“I made sacrifices last year, I moved to Oakland to train and get better,” stated Milton. “Now I am training in Las Vegas and I want to be the best I can be. I have to go where there’s world championship level sparring, it doesn’t get better than this. Helping Joe Joyce with his camp is just the start of many great things for me.”
Milton, who is fresh out of the amateurs, is more focused than ever on making a statement as a professional. His manager Mike Leanardì is thrilled with this opportunity.
“Milton has only been boxing for three years, but is able to give Joe Joyce quality work, which speaks to Milton’s attributes,” said Mike Leanardì, CEO of Victory Sports & Entertainment. “Milton is a person with strong character and a lot of integrity as well as talent. Learning from a decorated amateur and rising pro like Joe Joyce will only improve Jeremiah, and his quest to become a world champion.”
Tickets are now on sale via AXS.com and Ticketmaster.co.uk
Ticket Prices:
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