JOE JOYCE reckons beating new British golden boy Daniel Dubois will show doubters he is not “slow, stiff and s***”.
The 2016 Olympic silver medalist was robbed of a Rio gold and is 10-0 as a professional.
But he trails Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte and Dubois in the British heavyweight popularity stakes.
He hopes a two-fight run, starting tonight against German Michael Wallisch behind closed doors at the BT Sport studios, silences critics and gets him a world title shot.
The Juggernaut, set to face Dubois on October 24 at London’s O2, told SunSport: “Once I beat Dubois more people should get behind me.
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“But I think there will always be people who will always say, ‘He is too old, too slow, stiff, robotic… s***. It’s a fickle sport.
“Hopefully all this build-up and frustration will make the world title at the end of the story the icing on the cake.
“Then I will hopefully get the admiration and respect I deserve.”
Woeful judging robbed the 34-year-old Londoner of gold in Brazil so he missed out emulating AJ’s sensational rise.
Now Dynamite Dubois, 22, is the new kid on the block with all the backing.
But Joyce refuses to be bitter.
He added: “Would it have been different if I had got a gold medal? I don’t know.
“It’s interesting, if you look at the contrast between me and Joshua.
“He won a boxing gold at London 2012 and look where he is now. I went on the next cycle to Rio and won a silver, that should have been a gold, and you can see the difference.
“Daniel Dubois didn’t go to the Olympics but is the new golden boy with a lot of support.
“But I feel well on my way to a world title.
“I just have two opponents standing in my way in Wallisch and Dubois, then I will be in the position to challenge the champions.”
Joyce v Wallisch is live on talkSPORT from 10pm tonight and on BT Sport 1 from 7.15pm.
