By Tim Royner: Frank Warren says he would prefer not to stage the heavyweight clash between Daniel Dubois and Joyce Joyce behind closed doors on July 11. The British promoter says the fight needs the atmosphere of a large crowd for when it takes place. Before it was recently rescheduled, the fight was close to being sold out.
Moreover, Warren says the money Joyce (10-0, 9 KOs) and Dubois (14-0, 13 KOs) are both getting isn’t only dependent on the TV revenue, but also on the gate.
Dubois-Joyce was moved from April 11 to July 11
Dubois vs. Joyce ‘Seek and Destroy’ card was previously scheduled for April 11 at the O2 Arena in London, UK, but it’s now been moved to July 11 at the same venue. with the fight being moved, it has a greater chance of taking place without the need of being rescheduled again.
The coronavirus situation is disrupting a lot of events, causing them to be postponed. If the virus stays around for a long duration of 1 or more years, it’s unclear what direction promoters will take.
In the 22-year-old Dubois’ case, he’s young enough to sit idle until a vaccine for coronavirus is discovered, but it’s a different story for the 34-year-old Joyce. A prolonged period of inactivity would be a disaster for his career, as he’s already up in there in age.
Joyce can ill afford to wait for what could be years until the coronavirus is stopped. If the virus stays around as long as the 1918 Spanish Flu, which was 3 years, Joyce will have missed out on what’s left of his prime.
Warren: Dubois vs. Joyce needs a large crowd
“We’ve looked at various things. Most of the top boxers that are at the top end of the tree, and hopefully, I’d like to think with the purses they get, they’re pretty financially secure,” said Warren to Boxing Social. “But the other guys at mid-range and the journeymen, they’ve seriously been affected by this [the coronavirus pandemic and shutdown of boxing].
“If we did do something behind closed doors and we have thought about it, not that we’d be doing it right now, but if it did come to that, it would probably come at that level for those guys [mid-range and journeymen] so they can get some income and we can put some sport out so that people can watch it while they’re confined to their homes.
“I wouldn’t particularly want to be doing Daniel and Joe [Joyce] because I think it needs the atmosphere of a huge crowd. It was nigh on sold out. It needs that atmosphere to make it, and in the end, the fight lends itself to the atmosphere. I prefer not to be in the position to do that.
“Plus obviously the money the guys are getting paid is dependent not just on TV revenue but also on the money generated at the gate,” said Warren on the Dubois vs. Joyce fight.
It would obviously help if the Dubois vs. Joyce fight takes place in front of a large crowd. In a perfect world, the fight will take place on July 11 in front of a sold-out audience at the O2.
With a dangerous pandemic like the one we’re experiencing with the coronavirus, which is so highly contagious and with no vaccine to stop it, this thing could be around for a long time. If it’s anything like the Spanish Flu or the Swine Flu, it may not go away for 1.5 to 3 years.
Gutted to announce the postponement of my fight with @dynamiteDubois.
Right now health is paramount, so see you all July 11th!#THEJUGGERNAUT 👊🏾 pic.twitter.com/VQSIW3aBta— Joe Joyce (@JoeJoyceBoxing) March 17, 2020
Dubois to win by any means necessary
“This is boxing. I don’t pay any attention to what anyone else is up to. It’s up to him. He’s going to spar who he’s going to spar, but we’re going to have a good fight though,” said Dubois to Queensbury Promotions on the news of Joyce having previously sparred a UFC heavyweight. “It’s a seek and destroy mentality on my behalf.
“I’m just going to bring that into fruition on fight night, and it’s just leaving no stone unturned in training and be ready to go on fight night. No chance of that happening,” said Dubois when told that Joyce says he’s going to ‘Bully the bully’ when he gets in there with him.
“I’m prepared to win and win by any means necessary,” said Dubois. “Whatever he says he’s going to do, I’m just looking forward to getting in there and proving myself in front of the world. No, [nerves] as I’ve said before, I’m looking forward to setting off fireworks and showing how sharp and putting on a good boxing display and breaking him down,” said Dubois.
It’s predictable that Dubois will jump on the 6’6″ Joyce early, and look to knock him out as quickly as possible. If that doesn’t work, it could get interesting, especially of Dubois gasses out.
Dubois has scored so many early knockouts in his short three-year professional career that he’s not had to develop his conditioning. As such, we don’t know Dubois can fight hard for a full 12 rounds without losing steam, and being there for the picking in the championship rounds.
We don’t know what to expect from Dubois. What we saw in Dubois’ fight against journeyman Kevin Johnson in 2018 was troubling, to say the least.
