Joe Joyce confident he’ll be fine tuned for Daniel Dubois
Following his July 25 bout against Michael Wallisch (20-4, 13 KO’s), a brand new cloud of doubt emerged over heavyweight contender Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce’s (11-0, 10 KO’s) head. Among boxing circles, there was a common theme that Joyce took far too much unnecessary punishment to be a viable threat to Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois (14-0, 13 KO’s).
The theory was, if the Juggernaut was so easily touched by the last minute foe, how could he hope to survive against the thunderous punching Dubois? While Joyce has heard the ample critiques floating around social media, he is not paying them much mind. Even without looking like the most ferocious fighter in the division, he was still satisfied with his performance.
KNOCKIN’ RUST OFF
One reason that the London native is not beating himself up over the affair is because, just like the rest of the world, his training routine was greatly affected by the COVID-19 fallout. So, he was just happy to get back in the ring and resume some semblance of normalcy.
“I thought it was a good fight. I enjoyed the fight, it was good to get back in the ring. See the first round when I was trying to work him out I took some unnecessary shots where I could have slipped and moved out the way a bit better. But I wasn’t exactly worried about his power. So I didn’t really feel them and just kept going in the fight…it was good to fight in the BT studios, it wasn’t too bad. And it was good that people got a chance to see boxing again.”
Joyce admits taking Wallisch’s power for granted. Although, he did not dismiss the fact that early, in the first, he is available for his opponent’s offense.
“I think that’s where I’m susceptible to get hit, is in the first couple of rounds; the first round definitely. And when I am not worried about the power, it’s just water off a duck’s back. I just keep going forward.”
A WORK IN PROGRESS
Wisely, the Juggernaut does recognize the difference in caliber of adversary that Daniel Dubois would present. Bearing that in mind he knows that his preparations and concentration levels will have to be far improved if he is to defeat Dynamite.
“We’ve been locked down for so long that it’s just been good to get back in the boxing gym and start doing boxing training. So I guess my level is still there but it needs fine tuning and I’ve got plenty of time until the Dubois fight to do these corrections.”
Joyce’s chin will probably be his biggest asset against Dynamite and he is pretty self-assured there. However, he did not shy away from the fact that he’s been hurt in the ring before.
“I’m pretty confident [in his chin], but you know I’ve been put down a couple of times before, like in the amateurs. Which is better to avoid!”
By: Bakari Simpson
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