Joe Joyce Says It’s ‘Annoying’ Daniel Dubois Is Ranked Ahead Of Him Despite Beating Him Head-To-Head

Joe Joyce doesn’t understand why Daniel Dubois is ranked ahead of him.

Joyce and Dubois fought back in November of 2020 with Joyce winning by 10th-round knockout in a surprising upset. It was a massive fight and a big win for Joyce who has since gone on to beat Carlos Takam, Christian Hammer, and Joseph Parker to become the WBO interim heavyweight title.

Yet, despite holding the head-to-head win over Dubois, the WBA has Dubois as the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk which Joyce doesn’t understand why.

“It is annoying,” Joyce told Sky Sports. “It’s really annoying that Dubois is ahead in the queue, and Hrgovic as well. It’s out of my control and unfortunate. But fortunate for Dubois to come off a devastating loss [to me] and then be before me in the selection for the [unified title shot]. Only in boxing would this stuff happen. Nothing really surprises me. I’m just patient and I’ll get my shot. If I just keep on beating these guys then I’ll get the world title. I’m in a good position and it’s exciting times. There are plenty of good fights out there. I will get there eventually. I’m right there, so it’s a matter of time. I’ve got confidence in my ability and I do deliver when I fight. It’s going to be quite hard stopping me.”

Although Joe Joyce is annoyed by that, he is focused on his interim title defense against Zhang Zhilei on Saturday night. After that, he has been vocal about his hopes to face Tyson Fury next and should he win that, then everything will work itself out, but he is annoyed that Dubois is ranked ahead of him.

Do you think Joe Joyce will beat Zhang Zhilei on Saturday?