Joe Joyce put Michael Wallisch down three times and stopped him in the third round of a scheduled 10-rounder Saturday in London.
Joe Joyce picked up Saturday where he left off a year ago.
Joyce, the British heavyweight contender, put journeyman Michael Wallisch down three times and stopped him 57 seconds into the third round of a scheduled 10-rounder at the BT Sport Studio in London.
Wallisch (20-4, 13 KOs) went down once in the second and twice in the third, prompting referee Ian John Lewis to stop what quickly became a one-sided fight.
Joyce (11-0, 10 KOs) was coming off a successful year in 2019, when he beat in succession Bermane Stiverne, Alexander Ustinov and Bryant Jennings. The Jennings fight took place last July.
The 34-year-old Londoner now appears set to face countryman and fellow contender Daniel Dubois, assuming Dubois gets past Erik Pfeifer on Aug. 29 in the BT Sport Studio.
Joyce and Dubois were scheduled to meet in April but the fight was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new date reportedly is Oct. 24 at 02 Arena in London.
Wallisch, a German, was not expected to provide much resistance against Joyce. He’s now 1-4 in his last five fights, with all four setbacks coming by knockout.
Joe Joyce, building toward a showdown with Daniel Dubois, is scheduled to face Michael Wallisch in a 10-round bout Saturday in London.
One of the top British heavyweights is in action on Saturday.
Joe Joyce, building toward a showdown with countryman Daniel Dubois, is scheduled to face journeyman Michael Wallisch in a 10-round bout at BT Sport Studio in London. The card will be streamed on ESPN+ at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.
Joyce (10-0, 9 KOs) made a name for himself before turning pro, winning the super heavyweight silver medal in the 2016 Olympics.
The 34-year-old Londoner is now on the fringe of a Top-10 ranking after consecutive victories over Bermane Stiverne, Alexander Ustinov and Bryant Jennings, the last fight having taken place in July of last year.
Wallisch (20-3, 13 KOs) has lost three of his last four fights, all by knockout, including a third-round stoppage against Tony Yoka in September. Yoka is the fighter who beat Joyce in the Olympics.
Also on the card, Chris Bourke (7-0, 5 KOs) faces Ramez Mahood (11-0, 2 KOs) in a 10-round junior featherweight bout. Welterweight prospect Ekow Essuman (13-0, 5 KOs) will fight in a 10-rounder. His opponent hasn’t been selected.
Denzel Bentley (12-0, 10 KOs) takes on Mick Hall (15-2, 2 KOs) in a 10-rounder. And the ESPN+ stream will kick off with a six-round featherweight bout between Louie Lynn (6-0, 5 KOs) and Monty Ogilvie (9-1, 1 KO).
Tyson Fury says he has spoken to UFC President Dana White about crossing over to MMA but he has unfinished business in boxing.
Tyson Fury has a lot on his plate at the moment, most notably a third fight with Deontay Wilder when the coronavirus pandemic allows it. That could be followed by an all-British showdown with Anthony Joshua. And Fury he’ll probably give professional wrestling another go.
One more possibility down the line? A foray in the UFC. He said during a chat with Kugan Cassius on his Instagram Live workout that he has spoken to UFC President Dana White on the subject.
“I’ve had plenty of conversations with Dana White about potentially having a fight with one of the guys,” Fury said. “But, at the minute, I don’t need to fight UFC guys. … I need to clear up some of my own stuff [in boxing]. There’s a few guys that need to be fought in this era. I need to fight Wilder again. I’ve got to fight Joshua. I need to fight Dillian Whyte.
“I’ll fight anyone. And there’s a lot coming up, too, like Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois and Tony Yoka. A lot of fresh meat to beat on. There’s even fights like Luis Ortiz, whoever.”
Fury continued to reel off potential boxing opponents but then circled back to UFC.
“There’s so many heavyweights today,” he said. “Efa Ajagba, the Nigerian. He looks pretty good, big tall kid. Filip Hrgovic, he looks amazing, too. Oleksandr Usyk. Derek Chisora, he’s in the mix. There’s so many good heavyweights out there to be fought and fights to give the fans.
“Until then, I don’t need a fight with Francis Ngannou. I don’t need Stipe Miocic, Brock Lesnar, whoever. I don’t need these guys to fight in a crossover match right now. When I’m finished what I’m doing in my own career, we can look at something like that.”
There is no telling precisely when or where Fury-Wilder III will take place because of the pandemic. Promoters are shooting for the fall and reportedly are considering sites outside the U.S. and U.K., including China and Australia.
The British Boxing Board of Control extended suspension of cards in the U.K. though the end of April because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Uncertainty about boxing’s return only heightened Monday with an extended suspension of cards in the U.K. though the end of April.
The British Boxing Board of Control announced the extension within a week after it imposed a suspension through the end of March because of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
“Following further Government and Medical Authorities advice, the British Boxing Board of Control has decided that the suspension of Boxing Tournaments under the BBBofC jurisdiction remains in place until the end of April when further consideration will be given,” the ruling body said in a statement. “We will continue to follow the Government and the Medical Authorities advice and keep the situation under review.’’
An intriguing heavyweight fight between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce had been scheduled for April 11 at O2 Arena in London. Promoter Frank Warren has rescheduled it for July 11, also at O2.
There’s still no new date for junior welterweight Josh Taylor’s mandatory title defense against Apinun Khongsong. It had been scheduled for May 2 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Other key bouts in the U.K. are still on the May schedule, including two heavyweight bouts — Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin on May 2 in Manchester and Oleksandr Usyk vs. Derek Chisora on May 23 at O2 Arena.
Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois, two unbeaten Londoners, have agreed to fight one another on April 18 at O2 Arena, according to The Athletic.
Only one rising heavyweight will be left standing.
Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois, two unbeaten Londoners, have agreed to fight one another on April 18 at O2 Arena, according to The Athletic. Apparently, they have yet to formally sign contracts.
The fight reportedly will be available on pay-per-view in the U.K., where the fighters are well known, and streamed on ESPN+ in the U.S.
Both fighters have climbed into the heavyweight rankings in spite of relatively few fights.
Joyce (10-0, 9 KOs) won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics and has plowed through increasingly difficult opposition. The 34-year-old is coming off the only decision in his pro career, a unanimous nod over capable Bryant Jennings in July.
Dubois (14-0, 13 KOs) is obviously a better long term prospect at only 22 years old. His resume is thinner than that of Joyce – who has also beaten Bermane Stiverne – but he has been just as overwhelming.
Both fighters are huge, Joyce 6-foot-6 and Dobois 6-5.
Daniel Dubois wasted no time in stopping Kyotaro Fujimoto in the second round of their heavyweight bout at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Daniel Dubois ended 2019 the way he began it: With a no-frills knockout win.
The rising British heavyweight stopped Japan’s Kyotaro Fujimoto in the second round Saturday at the Copper Box Arena in London, bringing to a close a banner year that began with a knockout of Razvan Cojanu in the same round in March.
It was business as usual for Dubois, who neutralized Fujimoto with his jab before putting him down early in the second round. Moments later, Dubois iced him for good with a deftly-placed straight right.
The official time of stoppage was 2:10.
“I knew I had the power, and I was really confident in what I was going to do tonight,” Dubois (14-0, 13 knockouts) said. “What can I say? The light switched on, and that was good night.”
It’s the fifth knockout win in as many fights in 2019 for the London native, who also drubbed journeymen Razvan Cojanu, Richard Lartey and Ebenezer Tetteh. His most notable was win came against domestic rival Nathan Gorman, whom he steamrolled inside five rounds.
Not surprisingly, there is now growing anticipation for Dubois to face some of his dangerous countrymen, such as Joe Joyce, or, if you’re Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren, possibly even the recently re-crowned Anthony Joshua.
“Some people may laugh about it,” Warren said in the press conference before Saturday’s fight. “If I could make (Dubois) against Anthony Joshua, I would make it. I’m so confident. I would make that fight today. And I know who I’d have my money on.”
In any case, the drum roll has begun for the 22-year-old Dubois to face a legitimate threat in 2020.
Daniel Dubois faces Kyotaro Fujimoto on December 21 at the Copper Box Arena in London. Fujimoto struggled twice against a career 160-pounder.
OPINION
Call it a Frank Warren special.
Rising British heavyweight Daniel Dubois – and one of Warren’s most vital promotional assets – is set to face Tokyo’s Kyotaro Fujimoto on December 21 at the Copper Box arena in London. It will be Dubois’ fifth fight of the year, highlighted by his solid knockout win over domestic rival Nathan Gorman in the summer. It’s clear, however, that when it comes to charting out Dubois’ promotional future, he will be led along the path of least resistance.
In his last fight, Dubois (13-0, 12 knockouts) snuffed out Ebenezer Tetteh in one woebegone round. Sure, Tetteh was undefeated, but if you look closely, his record was built on the backs of undistinguished middleweights and light heavyweights in his native Ghana. Middleweights. Yes, you read that correctly.
Enter Fujimoto.
The 33-year-old may not have a record as visibly padded as Tetteh’s, but like the Ghanian, he has at least one instance of fighting a career middleweight, Nobuhiro Ishida. Remember that name? Ishida was the middleweight who scored a stunning knockout of a prime James Kirkland in 2011. His name would come up again later in 2013 under different circumstances, when then trailblazing Gennadiy Golovkin starched him inside three rounds.
How can Daniel Dubois grow as a fighter against pushovers? Julian Finney / Getty Images
For some strange reason, Ishida decided to move up to heavyweight and took on Fujimoto – and it was competitive! Though Ishida dropped a unanimous decision, he gave Fujimoto enough of a fit to call for a rematch, which Fujimoto would win by a split decision.
Anyway, this is who Dubois will be fighting, and while it’s to be commended that he is staying active, it’s not clear how he will improve against dramatically inferior opponents. Of course, anything can happen in the ring, as just about every promoter in the game will tell you to justify his self-interested motives.
It seems the fight has already become something of a joke. In a strange twist during a press conference to announce it, Fujimoto brought in a sparring partner dressed as a panda and began comparing himself to Rocky Balboa.
“He thinks he’s going to be Rocky Balboa? If he starts getting hit with the type of shots Rocky got hit with in the films, then it’s going to be a short night,” Dubois said.
