Former two division champion David Haye believes experience was the key to last Saturday's outcome between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce.

The unbeaten heavyweights collided in a high stakes showdown, which saw Dubois - who was up on the cards - remove himself from the fight in the tenth round.

Dubois' left eye had begun to swell up in the early rounds, from the stiff jabs of Joyce.

By the tenth, the eye was nearly shut. During that round, Joyce hit him directly on the eye - which led to Dubois taking a knee and allowing the referee to count him out.

It was revealed afterwards that Dubois had suffered a fractured orbital bone and nerve damage.

Joyce, an Olympic silver medal winner who faced much better competition in the pro ranks, had a very big edge in experience.

Haye expects Dubois to bounce back, but also feels that it will take years to rebuild him.

“Experience goes a long way in this game,” said Haye. “Going to the Olympics and going to the European amateur championships and Commonwealths – winning golds and silvers – you’re fighting the best in the world. You are tried and tested – people test out your chin and body.

“I hadn’t seen anything from Dubois to suggest he had any business being in there with Joe, other than a tremendous record and a big knockout reel. We saw that he wasn’t ready for that level. For five or six rounds he was looking fantastic and I had him winning on the card until round six. He needed to relax. I was very unhappy with the way he took a knee. He took a shot to the eye but I never like seeing a fighter take a knee.

“I’d rather get knocked spark out. I saw Dubois starting to learn but it’s hard to learn in a fight against someone who continuously comes at you. Joe Joyce has been hit and hurt before but he’s confident in his recovery skills.

“Dubois wouldn’t be ready to beat Oleksandr Usyk, which is what they’re potentially looking at next. Technically he’s not ready yet. Give it three or four years – for sure. After taking a knee like that it is going to take a while to build you confidence back up and the fans’ confidence back up. You’re going to need another five, six or seven fights before you start looking at some big names. I’m not saying it’s over for him."