JOE JOYCE DOES not go along with the thinking that says his blockbuster battle with Daniel Dubois on November 28 is a make or break fight for him.
Now 25, Joyce accepts that having launched his professional career just three years ago, every fight has represented a crossroads for him, where time would not be on his side in the event of having to rebuild.
However, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist insists he remains a sprightly 30-something with plenty of miles to go on his clock.
“I don’t feel that old because I only started in the game at the age he is now, which is 23,” countered the Putney-based heavy. “I feel like I haven’t been in the sport that long and that I have quite a few years ahead of me.
“But, yeah, this is a big fight and it is a big ladder to the top or a snake where I would have to rebuild. So the loser will have to rebuild a little bit and Daniel has got time more on his side because he is a young pup who would definitely be able to come back.
“I’d be able to come back too, but I don’t plan to do that. This is my chance to show what I am made of and to progress to the next stage and get a shot to become heavyweight champion.
“That is the route I am going. My aim before was to get to the Olympics and win a medal, so I completed that, although it was meant to be the gold medal and that didn’t happen. As a professional I want to be world champion and this is the route I need to go down and Dubois is standing in my way right now.”
According to Joyce, the pressure going into the fight rests on the shoulders of the younger man.
“I am not under any pressure because, according to the bookies, Daniel has already won. He has made a big name for himself and he has got the pressure to deliver.
“I don’t know why, but it is okay because it will be better when I beat him because I will take his scalp, how he has been built and take it further.”
Daniel Dubois looking forward to world title shot after beating Joe Joyce
Heavyweight powerhouse Daniel Dubois insists he’s ready to roll with the punches when it comes to his next career step and would take a World Title fight behind closed doors if he had to.
23-year-old ‘Dynamite’ has seen first-hand the havoc Coronavirus restrictions can wreak on the sporting schedule, with his upcoming bout with Joe Joyce having been pushed back three times this year.
Unfazed, Dubois fully intends to continue his rapid ascent through the ranks of boxing’s glamour division and would take whatever shot came his way, regardless of how it came to him.
Of getting a World Title shot behind-closed-doors, he said: “If the situation doesn’t improve and it doesn’t look likely there’ll be crowds there, I’d definitely take it. After this fight, if that’s the next option, then we’ll definitely take it.”
Dubois (15-0, 14KO’s) is currently ranked #2 with the WBO and, if internet whispers are to be believed, could be in-line to face #1 ranked Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk for the title should Britain’s Anthony Joshua vacate the title in search of a super fight with ‘The Gypsy King’ Tyson Fury.
Questioned by host Dev Sahni about his willingness to take on a fight against Usyk at such an early stage of his career, Dubois was assured in his response: “I’d definitely take that on.
“It’s another big challenge and another big exciting fight. He’s a talented boxer with a good boxing brain and good all-round movement.”
Former Cruiserweight kingpin Usyk would undoubtedly enter any such fight as the bookies favorite, owing to his wealth of experience, but ‘Dynamite’ believes he has the attributes to overcome the odds.
Asked what he has that would see him claim victory over Usyk, he said: “My athleticism, my speed, my youth, and my power. All that put together.”
Ready to take on any challenge, Dubois also insists that should Joshua not vacate the title, then he’d happily take part in a ‘Battle of Britain’ affair with AJ for the Gold.
When questioned on what kind of fighter would prove to be Olympic Gold medallist Joshua’s undoing, Dubois said someone who was “young and hungry.”
So, did the ambitious Greenwich prospect have anyone in mind?
“Yeah,” he laughed, “me next!”
Before any World Title opportunity, though, there’s a massive obstacle in his way by the name of Joe Joyce.
35-year-old Joyce boasts an undefeated record of his own, with 11 wins to his credit, and is backed by many within boxing to deliver his younger foe’s first defeat.
However, Dubois is convinced that he has the answers to any questions posed by ‘The Juggernaut.’
“Whatever he does, I’ve got an answer for it. If he tries to move in and fight me, that’ll be better for me, that’s what I want, but if he tries to box, I can do that too. I’m not worried about what he’ll try and do.”
With another behind-closed-doors bout ahead of him, perhaps not for the last time, confident Dubois knows exactly what people can expect come November 28th when he faces off against Joyce.
“A knockout. A devastating finish.”
Dubois vs Joyce headlines a great night of boxing action, live on BT Sport 1 HD on November 28th.
On the undercard, highly-touted Ilford youngster Hamzah Sheeraz (11-0-0, 7KO’s) will defend his WBO European Super-Welterweight title against canny Spaniard Guido Nicolas Pitto (26-7-2, 8KO’s). Jack Catterall (25-0-0, 13KO’s) will take on the French-based Tunisian Abderrazak Houya (14-2-0, 2KO’s) in a 10 round Super-Lightweight contest ahead of his challenge for the WBO world title.
London Heavyweight David Adeleye (3-0-0, 3KO’s) returns to behind-closed-doors action for the third time when he battles Silsden’s Danny Whittaker (4-1-0).
Jack Massey (16-1-0, 8KO’s) returns to action in an 8 round Cruiserweight contest against a fearsome puncher from the UAE, Mohammad Ali Bayat Farid (16-1-1, 16 KO’s).
Joshua Frankham (1-0-0) will return to Super-Welterweight action, Louie Lynn (7-0-0, 6KO’s) will look to follow up his 2nd round TKO from the 25th July and Henry Wharton backed Heavyweight Mitchell Barton will make his long awaited pro-debut.