Daniel Dubois vs. Joe Joyce: boxing’s battle of London is on

Daniel Dubois vs. Joe Joyce

• What: all-British heavyweight boxing bout
• When: Saturday 11 April 2020
• Where: The O2, London
• TV coverage: live on BT Sport Box Office

Boxing fans in the UK are in for a treat following today’s announcement that Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce will go head-to-head on 11 April.

The British heavyweights are both undefeated and will put their records on the line at The O2 in London.

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“Dynamite” Dubois, 22, is the British, Commonwealth, WBC Silver and WBO International champion while “Juggernaut” Joyce, 34, is the WBA Gold champion and the former Commonwealth and WBA Continental champion.

Promoter Frank Warren praised the Londoners for stepping up and agreeing the fight.

He said: “People always talk about wanting the best to fight the best. Well, on 22 February we have the No.1 and No.2 heavyweights in the world settling a score in Las Vegas, then in April we have the two best up and coming heavyweights in the world putting it on the line at the O2 Arena.

“It is a fight that needed to be made to see which man is ready to challenge the elite at the top end of the division and which one will reset and go again.

“This is one both men could easily have avoided and navigated a less perilous route to the top, but they want to get it on and give the fans what they want to see. When that first bell rings and it will be edge-of-seat stuff right from the off.”

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What the fighters say

Dubois: 14 wins, 13 KOs, 0 defeats

“This is the biggest fight of my career without doubt. This will be the fight that announces me to the world. I think I am better than Joe in every department. I have a better jab, I have better movement, I have more power. The only thing Joe has over me is experience, but he’s never boxed anyone as young and as hungry as me. This will be the most devastating performance of my career.”

Joyce: 10 wins, 9 KOs, 0 defeats

“This is a massive fight there’s no denying that there’s a lot on the line on both sides but experience is something you can’t buy and I’ve got tonnes of it and I believe it’ll play a huge factor in this fight.”

Reactions to the announcement