Dubois was suffering heavily with a closed left eye as Joyce upset the odds to claim victory in London
Joe Joyce slammed the breaks on the Daniel Dubois hype train with a late stoppage in a thrilling clash in London.
Dubois was the big favourite heading into the highly-anticipated domestic dust-up, which had been postponed three times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Triple D had promised to make a statement against a fighter 12 years his senior, but the experience of Joyce showed as he meticulously chipped away until Dubois said no more in the 10th round.
It was Joyce on the front foot in the first round, finding a home for his jab and reddening the nose of his fellow Londoner. Dubois’ renowned aggression arrived in the second and the 23-year-old landed with his right hand, forcing Joyce backwards.
The big shots kept coming, but Dubois was huffing and puffing by the end of the third round courtesy of a flurry of ferocious combinations. But Dubois was unable to fell Joyce and the fourth round swung back in his opponent’s favour, as the Juggernaut superbly used his jab to keep Dubois at bay and do damage.
More quick one-two combinations caused concern for Joyce, but there was noticeable swelling on Dubois’ left eye as he continued to stomach stinging jabs. Dubois was admonished by his corner when he returned after the sixth with coach Martin Bower telling his fighter, ‘Do not put your hands down’.
Into the seventh and Dubois opened the round furiously, appearing to hurt Joyce, but once again his rival managed to side-step the onslaught.
It was then that Joyce took control and produced impressive successive rounds, even holding his arm up after the ninth bell. Dubois appeared exhausted in the 10th round and when Joyce landed a jab flush on his damaged eye, Dubois suddenly took a knee and never made a movement to return to his feet.
Carl Frampton and David Haye were ruthless at ringside, with the former even labelling Dubois a quitter after watching him go down voluntarily.
“I’ve been hit hard but it was the position, maybe, where it hit me,” Dubois said afterwards when asked why he stayed down. “What can I say, he caught me with a good jab and it was pretty accurate.
“It just happened, I can’t explained it. He pinged it and I couldn’t see out of it. I was trying my best and it just happened.”
Joyce was doing flips in the ring after his superb victory and the 35-year-old will be looking towards a world title shot in 2021.
“Usyk! I’m ready for you, Usyk,” the Olympic silver medalist said, clearly setting his sights on a showdown with WBO No 1 contender Oleksandr Usyk.