British heavyweight champion Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois is expected to have too much firepower for Olympian Joe Joyce in the domestic dust-up in Westminster on Saturday night.
Following a number of postponements this year, the eagerly-awaited domestic clash between 23-year-old highly regarded heavyweight prospect Dubois and the vastly-experienced Joyce is finally on and headlines the BT Sport card, live from the Church House Conference Centre in London.
Biggest Test so far for Exciting Dubois
Back in 2017, Dubois made the decision to sign with Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions and turn professional rather than take his likely place in the Team GB squad and fight at the Olympics. Jump forward three years, and he is unbeaten after 15 fights into his pro career, boasting 14 knockouts and some sensational stoppages, but this is a huge step up in class for the young fighter.
Joyce is 12 years older than Dubois and enjoyed a highly decorated amateur career, ‘The Juggernaut’ won the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics and also picked up gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 European Games.
This is a risky fight for both men, but Dubois, who is a short-price favourite at 4/17, certainly has the most to prove.
‘Dynamite’ can Detonate
Fighting out of the renowned Peacock Gym in East London, Dubois will not be lacking for technique despite his inexperience. He possesses one of the most potent jabs in boxing and can dictate the pace of this fight from the off.
Joyce is a durable fighter, well known for his solid chin and relentlessness in pressing forward. However, when on the front foot he has proved time and time again that he can be caught with shots and be vulnerable due to his minimal head movement.
Dubois can expect early joy in this fight and Joyce’s resistance to heavy punches will be tested to the maximum.
Plenty in the Tank for the ‘Juggernaut’
Joyce is the proven fighter over 12 rounds, which is what makes this fight so intriguing. Should he be able to weather the storm from Dubois, Joyce, who is 14/5 to win this contest may get on top in the second half of the fight.
He has earned his nickname ‘The Juggernaut’ due to his willingness to keep coming forward and there will be no let-up for Dubois, whose best chance in this fight will be to get the stoppage and he is 1/2 to win by KO, TKO or DQ.
Joyce beat the experienced Bryant Jennings on points and it’s 15/2 for him to get the win here on the judges’ scorecards. It is also 5/2 for the bout to go the distance.
The line set for total rounds completed is at 6.5, with the unders priced up marginally shorter at 50/59.
Another big Finish for ‘Triple D’
Since turning professional, Dubois has been touted as a future heavyweight champion of the world and he can take a huge step towards that goal by taking out Joyce here in sensational style.
Dubois already has a fine knockout reel of visually impressive stoppages, beyond his brutal jab comes a thundering right hand that has put an end to most of his opposition to date. Unless Joyce has notably tightened up his defence, there will be ample opportunities for Dubois to land his big shots.
Dubois also likes to throw a gut-wrenching left hook to the body, a punch that Joyce has proved vulnerable to in the past, and was noticeably hurt by that exact shot from Bryant Jennings in the first round of their fight last year.
Joyce’s cause has not been helped by main trainer Ismael Salas testing positive for coronavirus and will be missing from his corner, Dubois can gain the stoppage with Round 6 appealing most at 9/1.
*All odds correct at time of writing
