Joe Joyce: Usyk Will Dance Rings Around Dubois, Pepper Him With Shots

Olympic silver medal winner Joe Joyce is expecting unified champion Oleksandr Usyk to dance circles around Daniel Dubois.

Dubois is the WBA’s mandatory challenger to Usyk, who holds the WBA, IBF, IBO, WBO world heavyweight titles.

Joyce is the WBO’s mandatory challenger to Usyk, but the WBA is first up in the mandatory defense schedule.

The sanctioning organizations came together to create the mandatory schedule – which in turn created a unique situation, because the unbeaten Joyce knocked out Dubois in their 2020 encounter.

“It’s very annoying, because I was at one stage the WBA ‘gold’ champion and the next belt up is the ‘regular’ which is the one [Dubois] is holding and I could have got there before him through that route,” Joyce explained.

“From beating him and now he’s got a world title shot before me is very annoying, but that’s how boxing works and you just have to deal with the cards you get dealt.”

Joyce is not worried about the outcome. He fully expects Usyk to retain his heavyweight crown. He gives Dubois a small puncher’s chance, but doesn’t see him landing that one big punch.

“I think Usyk is going to dance round him, Dubois won’t be able to hit him, he certainly couldn’t hit me when we fought, so he’s not going to be able to hit Usyk,” Joyce said.

“Dubois hits hard but you can’t hit someone who is going to be moving and he’s going to dance rings around him, peppering him with shots. There’s a small chance Dubois hits him with a big shot, but I can’t see it.”

Joyce will return to the ring this Saturday night, when he faces Chinese giant Zhang Zhilei in a high stakes encounter for the WBO’s interim-world title. The winner will fall in line to get a mandatory crack at Usyk.