Top British promoter Frank Warren has put together some great match-ups, some special fights, throughout his long career. Warren has put his money where his mouth in and matched a number of his fighters in big, high risk encounters. However, as he said when speaking with BBC Sport, the all-British heavyweight fight he feels will be “announced soon,” between Warren’s fighter Daniel Dubois and the also unbeaten Joe Joyce, is the “biggest risk” of his career as a boxing promoter.
“I am hoping we will be in a position to announce that fight soon,” Warren said. “We are in peak discussions and I think there is a will to get it done. Without a doubt [it’s a big risk] – probably the biggest risk. For Daniel it’s quite a jump up – to be fighting at this stage of his career in such a significant fight, so it’s a big decision to make. I am not worried about Daniel’s stamina. My only concern if I have one is Joe’s vast experience – how long he’s been boxing. And he’s undefeated. At this stage of his career, Daniel is the best heavyweight I have been involved with. He’s an exceptional talent.”
Indeed, it is to the credit of both Dubois and Joyce that they have (almost) agreed to fight. It’s refreshing that even in these times, when it’s rarer and rarer to see the best fight the best, two young (Joyce is already 34 but he is a “young” 34) and talented fighters who could so easily have swerved one another are willing to risk things in a big way. Dubois, aged 22 and 14-0(13) has looked incredibly powerful in some of his fights, yet he has also shown patience and maturity in other bouts. Joyce, 10-0(9) has lived up to his “Juggernaut” nickname, beating as he has, former champ Bermane Stiverne and, last time out, Bryant Jennings.
These two could so easily have gone a different route but now the real winners will be the fans. Now we have arguably the biggest all-British showdown between young and unbeaten heavyweights since Lennox Lewis vs Gary Mason from 1991. So who wins? It’s a tough, tough fight to pick a winner from. Both men can punch very, very hard, yet both guys are also still somewhat green. It could be a quick, all guns blazing type of fight, or we could see a calm and patient approach between two good boxers.
Dubois especially has shown a fine left jab. Dubois has been extended to the tenth-round just once (by the crafty and ultra-durable Kevin Johnson), while Joyce has also gone the distance one time, in the Jennings fight.
Both Dubois and Joyce had standout amateur careers. It really is a risky fight these two have (almost) agreed to, and again, full credit to both men for having done so. Who will be the most nervous man at ringside on the night, though?