Whilst being the underdog usually relieves the pressure on a fighter, former heavyweight champion David Haye believes the opposite will be true when betting outsider Joe Joyce clashes with rival behemoth Daniel Dubois at Church House, Westminster, on Saturday night.
At 23, Dubois has time on his side to deal with defeat and regroup but ex-amateur star Joyce, 35, is also battling the clock, having turned pro after a long and distinguished career in the unpaid code.
Former WBA heavyweight king Haye feels that Joyce simply has to win on Saturday to be an equation in the heavyweight title picture.
“The most to lose for sure is Joe Joyce,” Haye told Talksport. “Joe Joyce is 35 and he is at a stage in his career where he needs to make his move. He has waited long enough now and it is time to get the bit between your teeth and really make a crack at this boxing game.
“He’s been bubbling around the top echelons of the British scene, but it is time to make a step forward and start really making some waves. He’s got a great-looking record, he has some nice names on it, he’s at an age where he doesn’t have too more years to develop. He has to be developed now, or he is never going to develop.
“A lot of people really like the youth and the knockout ratio of Dubois and think Joyce has missed the boat. But I’ve seen what Joe Joyce has got in the tank still and this is a must, must win.
“If you look at Dubois, he is only 23 years old. God forbid, he doesn’t get the win and it’s Joyce who moves on. He can rebuild. I lost my first pro fight after ten wins, three-and-a-half years later I am number one on the world and world champion.
“So just because a young man loses a fight, doesn’t mean his career is in tatters as they said mine was at the time. If you’re dedicated and you’re focused and you regroup and work out what went wrong, he can come back.
“But Joyce doesn’t have three-and-a-half years to come back. He needs to make the move now, so I definitely feel as though the pressure is on Joe Joyce, although he is the underdog.
“For his career, he has to make this happen now – this is his opportunity.”