Shrewd defeat of Daniel Dubois showcased the sport’s best qualities before Mike Tyson took to the stage in LA
It’s always the quiet ones. And they don’t come a lot quieter than Joe Joyce, whose impressive if inconvenient stoppage of Daniel Dubois has hurled him into the heavyweight spotlight alongside Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, his compatriots who share all four world belts.
After making the 23-year-old Dubois quit in the 10th round at Church House on Saturday night – the British, Commonwealth and European champion taking a knee then pawing an eye injury that was confirmed on Sunday as a broken orbital bone, along with nerve damage – the best-case scenario for the 35-year-old south Londoner is a mandatory challenge for Joshua’s WBO title. If Joshua – who defends his three belts against Kubrat Pulev on Saturday – becomes tangled up in talks with the idling WBC champion Fury for a putative two-fight bonanza in 2021 and has to give up the WBO title, Joyce would happily fight the unbeaten Oleksandr Usyk for the vacated championship.
Related: Joe Joyce takes titles after forcing Daniel Dubois to quit in 10th round
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