Daniel Dubois: I'm Gonna Dominate Joe Joyce & Show This Is My Era
Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce must win interim bouts before they finally fight, but Dubois can’t envision either of them losing.
Assuming they meet October 24 at O2 Arena in London, Dubois predicted he’ll “dominate” Joyce in an intriguing heavyweight showdown that has been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Well, you guys have gotta wait and see,” Dubois told BT Sport recently of how their fight will unfold. “It’s gonna be a great fight, though. I know I’m gonna win and come through this fight. It’s no easy task, but I’m gonna dominate and show this is my era.”
The 22-year-old Dubois (14-0, 13 KOs) will watch close Saturday night, when London’s Joyce (10-0, 9 KOs) squares off against Germany’s Michael Wallisch (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 10-round tune-up fight for his bout versus Dubois. The 34-year-old Joyce is an astonishing 100-1 favorite to beat Wallisch, who has lost three of his past four bouts by knockout to Christian Hammer, Efe Ajagba and Tony Yoka.
If Joyce handles his business Saturday night at BT Sport’s Studio in London, he’ll have to wait until August 29 to learn whether he’ll battle Dubois on October 24. That’s the date for Dubois’ bout with Germany’s Erik Pfeifer (7-0, 5 KOs), a 12-rounder that’ll also take place at BT Sport’s Studio.
The 33-year-old Pfeifer stopped Bosnia’s Adnan Redzovic (21-4, 9 KOs) after the fifth round of his last fight, November 16 in Halle, Germany.
“He’s proven he knows his way around the ring,” Dubois said of Pfeifer. “He’s sort of like a veteran. … So, it’s gonna be a good, interesting boxing match while it lasts. I’m going in for the stoppage and a dominant, devastating performance again. And make a statement and, you know, bring Joyce on after him.”
London’s Dubois obviously expects Joyce to give him more difficulty than Pfeifer.
“Possibly, on paper, it is [my toughest fight],” Dubois said. “But I don’t listen to none of the critics and all of that stuff.”
Joyce, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, and Wallisch will headline an ESPN+ stream in the United States on Saturday and a BT Sport broadcast in the United Kingdom.
The ESPN+ stream is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. BT Sport’s coverage is set to begin at 7:15 p.m. BST.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
