Greenwich heavyweight Daniel Dubois keen on British title showdown with Joe Joyce – as Dillian Whyte holds WBC title talks
Greenwich’s rising heavyweight star Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois is keen to face Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce for the vacant British title.
The British Boxing Board of Control have put out the fight to purse bids with a closing date for promoters to make their offers by April 10. The board have ordered that the bout must take place by the end of July.
Dubois, 21, won the vacant WBO European belt in his last bout with a second round demolition of Razvan Cojanu. He has won all 10 of his professional fights – nine of them inside the distance.
Joyce would represent his biggest test yet. The former GB Olympian has fast-tracked his career – at the age of 33 he knows that he cannot take a sedate climb up the rankings.
The ex-Earlsfield ABA amateur has a perfect 8-0 record with all of those victories inside the distance. He won the Commonwealth title in his fourth bout and defended that – along with claiming the vacant WBA gold strap – in a six-round battering of former WBC world champion Bermane Stiverne in February.
Dubois already had a fight scheduled before the BBBoC made their move. He faces Ghana’s Richard Lartey (14-1) at Wembley Arena on April 27.
“The Juggernaut is open to all offers – no problem,” tweeted Joyce following the board’s attempt at matchmaking.
Dubois said: “Once April 27 is done with, I can then start thinking about a fight that I am sure everyone will want to see – where I can show that I am on my way to the top with a big knockout of a British rival who I know well from the amateur scene.”
Frank Warren, who promotes the exciting South Londoner, only wants his charge to have Lartey in his sights.
“I don’t want Daniel thinking about anything that the board have done,” he said. “Lartey is world-ranked, number 14 I believe. He has had 15 fights and won 14. The one he lost he was injured during the fight.
“It’s a tough one for Daniel. I want him to come through that – we’re stepping him up every time. If he comes through that then we have got no problem making the Joe Joyce fight. We won’t be withdrawing from that fight, at all.
“Let’s get my man through the show on April 27 and hopefully we can get that on [the Joyce bout] in the summer.”
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman was in London over the weekend – and talks were held with Brixton’s Dillian Whyte over his title fight situation.
The heavyweight, nicknamed “The Bodysnatcher”, is ranked number one by the organisation but has been frustrated in his attempts to land a mandatory shot at champion Deontay Wilder.
There had been talk that Whyte would fight American Dominic Breazeale for the WBC’s interim heavyweight title.
But due to Wilder and Tyson Fury not sealing a rematch, the former is now defending his title against Breazeale.
Asked about the meeting with Sulaiman, Whyte responded: “It was very productive, everyone is trying to find a solution to the situation. Wilder is a piece of s*** and Breazeale is a piece of s***.”