Joe Joyce has shared his reaction to his former opponent Daniel Dubois beating Fabio Wardley in a hugely thrilling world title fight this past weekend.
British heavyweight Joyce shared the ring with Dubois in the early stages of ‘DDD’s career. The fight became infamous for Dubois because he was accused of being a quitter, having taken a knee and allowing himself to be counted out after sustaining heavy damage to his eye following repeated punishment from Joyce’s solid jabs.
He rebuilt from there and recently, following a loss to Oleksandr Usyk, went on a fine run that saw him beat Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and then Anthony Joshua to become an IBF world champion. Back in August last year, he lost the belt in his rematch with Usyk.
It was only this past weekend that Dubois returned to the ring to take on the recently crowned WBO champion Wardley. He was knocked down twice in the first three rounds but showed great composure to establish himself behind his jab and then rain down ever more brutal right hands, leaving Wardley’s face a bloodied mess and forcing the referee to stop the fight in the 11th round.
In a post on X after the fight, Joyce shared his delight at the win.
Yes DDD! @DynamiteDubois@Queensberry 💥
— Joe Joyce (@JoeJoyceBoxing) May 9, 2026
It was a performance that showed Dubois has great courage even in adverse times and could see him now push on and become dominant in the division, particularly as Usyk is coming to the end of his career.
