Joe Joyce will tune up for his blockbusting showdown with Daniel Dubois by facing Michael Wallisch in his next fight on Saturday July 25.
Joyce (10-0 with nine victories inside distance) is due to face another rising star of the division in Dubois (14-0, 13 inside distance) at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday October 24.
But he will prepare for that massive clash with an interim bout against German Wallisch (20-3, 13 inside schedule) behind closed doors at the BT Sport Studios in London on July 25. ‘The Juggernaut’ will take in a 10-rounder in his first bout since winning a unanimous decision against Bryant Jennings at the O2 last July.
Not surprisingly the 34-year-old Londoner is delighted to be back in action at last, and keen to get back into prime shape for that upcoming test against Dubois. He also revealed that he will be trained by Steve Broughton for the Wallisch fight, but expects to be reunited with Cuban Salas next month in readiness for Dubois.
Joyce said: “I can’t get Ismael into the country for this fight because of coronavirus, but I have Steve Broughton looking after me. After the Wallisch fight I am hoping to be able to go to Las Vegas to train with Salas or get him over here to prepare me for Dubois. If we can go to the Vegas next month, I will only ever be in the gym or at the house so the environment will be enclosed.”
Joyce was obviously keen to take a fight before Dubois given that one-year hiatus, explaining: “It will be good to shake off the ring rust, get back in there and actually box. Wallisch is good boxer. He has a European style with a high guard and he comes in throwing punches, body shots and head shots. It is a good, hard fight. It wasn’t too long ago he was highly ranked so this is a chance for him to get back in the picture.
“There is a bit more pressure on with Dubois in October. I just have to avoid injury, make sure I look good against Wallisch, get myself back into the flow of things and go into the Dubois fight in the best shape possible.”
Promoter Frank Warren meanwhile said: “Everyone at Queensberry (Promotions) and BT have worked hard to get these shows up and running and I believe this schedule is second-to-none in the boxing world right now.
“Daniel and Joe returning is obviously huge, headline news and scheduling these fights reflect our growing confidence that Daniel and Joe will be able to finally square off on October 24th. I spoke to both teams and they both said that as it looks like we’re going to finally do this in October, they’d like tune-up fights first. Thankfully, BT liked the idea and here we are.”
Dubois, as Warren alluded to, will also have an interim bout before facing Joyce. He’ll take on another German in Erik Pfeifer (7-0) on another BT Sport Studio bill on Saturday August 29.