GET IT RIGHT
Lennox warns Dubois he has to mix it up
LENNOX LEWIS has told Daniel Dubois he will need more than a big right hand to beat Joe Joyce.
The British heavyweight icon cannot wait to see his two compatriots square off next weekend.
Dubois, 23, faces rival Joyce for the British, Commonwealth and European titles at Church House in Westminster on Saturday night.
Former undisputed world heavyweight king Lewis will be watching from afar but has been keeping tabs on the two prospects.
Dubois is the bookies’ favourite thanks to his explosive power which has seen him stop 14 of 15 opponents.
But Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Joyce, 35 ( inset) is confident he can upset the odds and fire himself into world title contention.
“Dubois is a serious boxer, he comes in on search and destroy,” Lewis told BT Sport.
“He’s trying to knock you out, most of the guys he has fought didn’t quite hold up. He’s going against Joyce right now and Joyce has a lot of experience, he’s older and tough.
“He knows Dubois is going oing to be coming with that right ht hand, he’s not silly, he’s a smart fighter. He will have his defence up and be ready for that.
“Dubois better come with something different, different combinations - and I think both th fighters are good and it will be a good fight.”
The bout has been compared to Lewis’ clash with Gary Mason for the
British iti h and European titles titl back k i in 1991. That was billed as a breakthrough moment for the winner and Lewis stopped his rival before going on to win his first world title two years later.
“Did I feel at the time it was a fight that could catapult me to the next level? Absolutely,” said the last man to reign as undisputed heavyweight king.
“The guys on the street were saying if you want to be the man you have to beat Gary Mason so I had to beat Gary Mason.” A few hours after Dubois and Joyce meet in London, over in Los Angeles one of Lewis’ old rivals Mike Tyson returns to the ring at 54 to face another boxing icon in Roy Jones Jnr, 51.
The bout is an exhibition over eight two- minute rounds with 12oz gloves but Lewis said: “A lot of people say they’re going to do an exhibition until they get hit.
“If Jones hits Tyson a couple of times then runs around, Tyson is not going to say, ‘ Oh this is an exhibition.’
“He is going to say, ‘ I got to hit you back a couple of times, maybe three times.’”
But is seeing the veterans lace them up again after years out of the ring giving Lewis the motivation to consider his own return?
“No, it doesn’t really tempt me,” he added. “There is talk about that type of thing in the future but not now.”
Daniel Dubois v Joe Joyce this Saturday is exclusively live for BT Sport subscribers. Sign up to watch, contractfree, with BT Sport Monthly Pass. For more info visit bt. com/ monthlypass