Tonight sees “The Juggernaut ” Joe Joyce take on the explosive Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois in which both British fighters are unbeaten.
At the age of 35, Joyce despite having fought only 11 times in the professional ranks and with just a total of 47 amateur bouts, won a silver medal in the Super-Heavyweight division at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Many had felt that he was unlucky to not have won the gold medal in which he lost to Tony Yoka of France on a split-decision.
Although not as spectacular as Dubois, the 6ft 6 inch fighter from South London has wins under his belt against former world champion Bermane Stiverne and Bryant Jennings who had previously fought for the world title against Wladimir Klitscko.
Joyce carries a slight height advantage against the 6ft 5 inch Dubois and is a stone heavier than Dubois at 18 stone 6lbs. He also has great stamina which many believe would give him the edge if the fight were to go the distance.
Dubois however at 23 years old is considered by many to be the next British Heavyweight who could be the heir apparent to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as a world champion.
His punching power in his 15 fights to date have lived up to his nickname of Dynamite and he looks to have the killer instinct in which his spiteful jab is something to watch out for.
However the question always remains with unbeaten fighters who have yet to ride out a storm, what will Dubois’s punch resistance be like if Joyce lands a heavy punch or frustrates Dubois and drags the fight into the later rounds?
This is what makes tonight’s fight a very intriguing fight as the incentive for the winner is huge with a fight in 2021 for the WBO Heavyweight title a possibility.
Should Joshua get past Pulev next month, he will have his eye on a fight with Tyson Fury next year and should he decide to relinquish his WBO belt in which Usyk is the mandatory challenger, Usyk would be in pole position to fight the winner of tonight’s fight.
Dubois is the favourite to win this fight but as we have seen in the Heavyweight division with Dillian Whyte’s knockout loss to Povetkin, it only takes just one punch to totally wreck the outcome of a fight.
Just how much of an upward curve Joyce is at 35 years old compared to the 23 year old Dubois will be interesting to see but I can only see Dubois’s hand been raised with a knockout inside 8 rounds.