Dubois was sent to the canvas by a clubbing left hook – twisting his knee on the way down. With his movement compromised, Dubois touched down a further two times after overextending his knee but was able to respond emphatically with a third-round stoppage victory over his South African foe.
Despite the heart and courage on display, Joyce wasn’t too impressed by the showing and let it be known during an interview with iD Boxing.
“I didn’t really see too much progression in that fight,” said Joyce. “He didn’t look very good. He looked like he was getting stopped … He was in a pretty serious situation then.
Joyce stopped Dubois in the tenth round of their British and Commonwealth title clash two years ago and doesn’t understand how a man he has already beaten is closer to a title fight than him.
“He hasn’t got the experience and now all of a sudden, he’s got the WBA (regular) but he hasn’t picked up that experience,” Joyce told Seconds Out. “He’s boxing outside, he probably hasn’t warmed up properly and he’s done his knee and he looked terrible. I was at the top of the stadium, went to go and get something to eat and drink.
“We had to rush back, I thought ‘oh my god, he’s got f****ing chinned’ three counts in the first round what is going on. That would have been embarrassing if he got knocked out by him. And he’s still getting a shot at the title, must be something going on.”
When asked whether he would entertain a rematch with Dubois now, Joyce told iD Boxing: “I think I beat him pretty convincingly, so it doesn’t really need to be revisited. It could be a rematch down the line but there are a lot better fights out there for me.”