Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce
Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce

Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce: Analysing a showdown to savour


While the world of horse racing got a £40million shot in the arm, there was not a bean set aside for boxing in the Government’s plan to provide financial assistance to major spectator sports, courtesy of the Sport Winter Survival Package.

Amateur gyms are closing. In the pro game, good fighters are unable to get fights and are looking for alternative employment as a result. The short- to mid-term future of the sport looks bleak.

Yet only in the darkness can you truly can see the stars. Promoters and TV networks are more aware than ever now that if boxing is to stay relevant, and not be reduced to a ‘niche’ sport due to the unfolding global Covid-19 pandemic, then big fights need to happen. Fights which capture the public’s imagination and set pulses racing.

Step forward Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce.

The two brightest prospects in British heavyweight boxing are set to collide on Saturday night (live on BT Sport 1 HD). Dubois, 23, has won all 15 of his professional fights, while Joyce, 35, is unbeaten in 11.

The winner can look forward to an inevitable world-title shot, the loser can probably come again. But just as importantly, a fascinating fight between two evenly matched heavyweights should show the world everything that is truly decent and honourable about the noble art.

Daniel Dubois analysis

Dubois has long been touted as the next big thing in British boxing and the man to take up the baton when Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua wind down their respective careers.

As an attraction he is prime real estate for promoter Frank Warren, so eyebrows were raised when this fight was first penciled in for April. It is a gamble, but he starts as the clear 1/4 favourite with Sky Bet and it shows the confidence ‘Team Dubois’ must have to be taking this fight under these circumstances.

His potential is genuinely frightening. Dubois is 6’ 5” and has been living up to his ‘Dynamite’ nickname with 14 of his 15 wins coming inside the distance. His best victory to this point came against Nathan Gormam in another battle of unbeaten prospects in 2019. Dubois was brilliant at the O2 as he showed patience and skill early on before finishing Gorman with a brutal KO in the fifth.

Daniel has caught some heat on social media for the level of his opposition since that Gorman win. However, this is nothing new. Britain’s most beloved heavyweight Frank Bruno enjoyed his fair share of easy nights on the way up. No, it is what Dubois does from here on out which will define his career.

He is a big puncher and an exciting finisher who seems to have a decent engine. Just as importantly, he respects the sport and lives the life of a pro fighter. A boxer who lives in the gym and is always in shape.

On the downside, he has been so dominant that his defensive skills have yet to be truly tested. At this level those skills must go beyond having a sturdy chin and a big heart.

Joe Joyce analysis

The ‘Juggernaut’ is 11-0 as a pro, but a clear 3/1 betting outsider for this. He’s not happy about it either, saying recently: “To be honest I feel a bit insulted, the way the bookies have it is just crazy. It’s like I haven’t done anything and am just a journeyman.” He has a point.

In terms of his pedigree, Joyce enjoyed a long and distinguished amateur career which culminated in an Olympic silver medal at Rio 2016. Many observers felt that he should have won gold given the volume of punches he threw and landed against Frenchman Tony Yoka in their Super Heavyweight final.

To his credit, Joyce hasn’t let the heartache of that decision affect him and has been moved along serenely as a pro. Indeed it could be argued that his win against Bryant Jennings in 2019 is better than anything on Dubois’ record. Joyce is Commonwealth champion and while he’s 35 there are not that many miles on the clock given the fact he turned over in 2017.

Style-wise, Joyce can be a tough sell. He can look crude and cumbersome at times but he is also relentless. He is very strong with a high punch output and cuts the ring off well, a fighter who loves nothing more than a good old-fashioned tear up.

His style might be ugly at times but it would be foolish to dismiss anyone who came so close to Olympic glory, and he is clearly not any easy night’s work for anyone. He has the frame to compete with any modern heavyweight and genuinely fancies the job against Dubois.

There is no doubt Joyce has the experience to take ‘DDD’ into deep waters and there is a feeling in the trade that if the fight goes past eight rounds, then the pendulum could swing dramatically in his favour. If any heavyweight is lacking in the chin or cojones department, Joyce is the type of fighter to find them out.

In terms of weaknesses, the most glaring one he has shown so far is that he is easy to hit. That could spell disaster against a man like Dubois, who possesses wrecking-ball power. Joyce has a habit of walking into mid and close range slowly without jabbing, and holding his feet after throwing punches.

Another potential negative is that in a three-year pro career he has had a lot of trainers, spending time already with Adam Booth, Ismael Salas and Abel Sanchez. Heavyweights are creatures of routine and frequent gym hopping from a prospect rarely ends well.

The win over German Michael Wallisch in August shook off ring rust, but Joyce weighed a career-heavy 270 lbs for that and looked a bit portly round the mid-section. That raised the question as to just how diligent his training had been during lockdown. If pictures posted on social media in the past week are anything to go by though, he is in fearsome shape for this one.

Dubois vs Joyce: Big-fight pointers

British champion meets Commonwealth champion in the unlikely setting of Church House in Westminster, and both men will have an eye on a world-title shot in 2021 if they can emerge victorious.

In terms of breaking down the fight, Dubois has the better jab and a lot of his knockouts have come from straight right hands set up by that thudding left lead. Joyce is going to have to stay away from that signature shot if he is to win the fight, but Dubois also likes to dig in with hard left hands to the body. Joyce does not seem to carry the same level of power as his opponent, but can clearly punch and throws more shots per round.

Joyce should be encouraged by the fact Dubois looked a little ragged during his shootout with Richard Lartey last year. He was caught by the African and elected to stand and trade, backing his own chin and briefly adopting a ‘take one to land one’ mentality before getting Lartey out of there in the fourth.

There is not a lot between them in terms of height and reach, and both men look in tremendous physical trim for the biggest night of their professional lives so far.

The general consensus is Dubois will box to instruction behind the jab, much like he did against Gorman before finding his range and then turning up the power. However, Joyce is explosive himself and likes to trade, and won’t go into his shell as Gorman did.

Fireworks look guaranteed but it could be a slower-paced fight early on with both fighters respecting the power of their opponent. However, the styles should ultimately gel and a stoppage win for either protagonist would not be a shock.

If Dubois can find the range with his stiff jab to create an opening to unleash that huge right, then he can claim victory between rounds four and six. However if the fight goes past half a dozen rounds and Joyce is still in the mix, one can envisage a scenario where he overwhelms Dubois in the second half with his sheer volume of punches and unrelenting aggression.

As a side note, both boxers must be commended for stepping up to fight each other when less treacherous routes to glory and fame were clearly open to them.

Somebody’s ‘0’ is about to go, but boxing will be the real winner.

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