Joe Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs) inflicted the only defeat so far Daniel Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs). Before that, Joyce was losing Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) in amateur boxing. At the same time, Joyce continues to see Dubois' chances of winning the fight against the Ukrainian.
Dubois will face Usyk on August 26 at the stadium in Wroclaw, which has a capacity of about 45,000 people. The champion will defend the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts. Dubois lost to Joyce in November 2020. The fight was stopped in the tenth round, although Dubois was leading on two scorecards after nine rounds. Inspection after the fight showed a serious injury to the eye socket, which made it very difficult for DDD to continue the fight.
“Dubois hits really hard,” warned the champion Joyce, who will face Zhang Zhilei (25-1-1, 20 KOs) on September 23. The best of these two will become the mandatory challenger for Usyk or Dubois in the WBO line.
“I bet on the Ukrainian, but he may have a difficult task. Daniel has a chance for a knockout because he has very heavy hands. If he catches on and continues to finish off, he can break the champion. Another thing is that it will be difficult to hit Usyk, because he will be on the move all the time, and will still counterattack, dancing on his feet. I want Dubois to win, he has a chance, but I'm betting on Usyk," Joyce said.
