In a fight that was a long time coming, former silver medallist amateur champion Joe Joyce made Daniel Dubois surrender in the 10th round of their highly anticipated clash. The fight was screened on BT Sport and took place at the Church House in Westminster in London.
The bout turned out to be a case of skill vs brawn as Dubois attempted to land huge power punches on his taller foe. But Joyce was able to withstand everything that went his way and by the 4th round he already answered questions about his punch resistance.
Joe, often criticised for his lack of speed and mobility, worked behind a jab that he was able to frequently connect with to Dubois’ left eye which soon swelled up. Daniel used a jab of his own but it was nowhere near as effective and Joyce was able to slip away from many of the more heavier punches that Dubois threw.
In the 10th, there was a moment when both combatants threw jabs simultaneously but it looked like Dubois, also bleeding from his mouth, took a step forward when throwing his and, in effect, walked on to Joyce’s jab which amplified the damage it caused. Dubois elected to take a knee and was eventually counted out.
An elated Joe Joyce was declared the new EBU champion.
Disapprovals have been voiced by fans in regards to Dubois choosing to bow out in the 10th but it has come to light that the Greenwich born fighter has suffered nerve and eye socket damage. It is highly likely that he will now be taking an extensive rest to recover and think about what he wants to do from this point forward.
I believe it is premature to say for sure that Dubois’ “fighting heart” is a little short and I will prefer to to refer to his future fights as points of reference in regards to whether the manner in which he bowed out was a one off or a sign of something a bit deeper.
Despite doing what he did to Daniel’s eye, Joe never put him under pressure with a series of power strikes and so I think Dubois might still need to answer questions about his punch resistance. Joyce certainly passed the test with flying colours in that regard.
Unlike the new European champion, who has seemingly added a reasonable jab to his arsenal, Dubois showed little of anything new but he still carries enough power that would put a lot of heavyweights in trouble. But any fighter needs more than that in order to make it to the very top level in the sport. Still, at only 23 years of age time is on Daniel Dubois’ side. He has a chance to regroup and come back as an even better boxer. But whether he will or not remains to be seen.
As for Joe Joyce it is also clear that he, too, is a work in progress despite being victorious last night.
The lack of speed is still evident, but his timing is great and he slips and rolls away and under a lot of punches quite comfortably. He possibly has the type of chin that could take the very best of what the heavyweight division has to offer. But he can still be relatively easy to hit at times and he needs to develop some fundamentals if he is to go further. Unlike Dubois, time is not on his side at the age of 35. It might be ideal for him to fight again pretty soon in order to keep improving and as rapidly as possible.
It is going to be an interesting time for both Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce
