By: Hans Themistode
Heavyweight contender Joe Joyce heavily criticized Daniel Dubois following his 10th round stoppage win over the young prospect this past weekend.
“He definitely quit,” said Joyce immediately after his victory. “But he saved his eye. His eye was obviously busted up and I hear he broke a socket but he’s young so he can come again.”
Dubois, 23, suffered much more than a broken eye socket following their 10 round slugfest. According to multiple reports, the British native sustained nerve damage to his left eye as well.
Before Joyce (12-0, 11 KOs) managed to pick up the stoppage win, Dubois was seemingly having his way with him. The formerly undefeated fighter rocked Joyce on several occasions and seemed to be on his way to closing the show. Despite the bombs that landed however, Joyce kept moving forward while landing what appeared to be an extraneous jab.
As the rounds ticked by, Joyce’s jab became more pertinent as the left eye of Dubois began to shut. In the tenth, Joyce landed it again. The reaction from Dubois this time around however, was different from the rest as he took several steps back before ultimately taking a knee. Dubois remained in his kneeled position until he was ultimately counted out.
Joyce, a 4-1 underdog on the night was all smiles following the win. With their rivalry officially over, the newly crowned EBU European, Commonwealth and BBBoC British heavyweight champion broke down how he rendered Dubois’s tactics ineffective on the night while also taking the time to rub his win in the faces of those who weren’t backing him to get the win.
“I felt the jab was landing well so I kept at it. Took his jab away, used my footwork, stayed away from his dangerous shots and followed the game plan. I’m very pleased and happy that I got him out of there. I proved all of the doubters wrong.”
With the biggest win of his professional career under his belt, Joyce is already thinking about his next move. At the age of 35, Joyce doesn’t want to face off against below-average competition. Currently, unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is in possession of three of the four major titles in the division. However, there is growing speculation that he will soon drop his WBO title in order to pursue a mega showdown with fellow champion Anthony Joshua.
Although Joyce is more than happy to be sporting his European titles, he’s hoping that his promoter in Frank Warren will be able to rid him of those lesser belts in exchange for a major one.
“Hopefully the Warren’s can sort out that WBO title should Joshua vacate it. I just can’t wait to become world champion and hopefully unite the belts. I want to fight all of these top class heavyweights. There’s a small circle of top class heavyweights and I believe I belong with them.”