Joe Joyce is cutting a relaxed figure ahead of his titanic heavyweight confrontation with Daniel Dubois in London on November 28.
With Dubois (15-0, 14 KOs) a clear 1/4 favourite with the likes of BetFred in their British, Commonwealth and European title fight, Joyce feels relatively pressure-free as most observers and bookmakers seem to favour the younger man to prevail.
“I am not under any pressure because, according to the bookies, Daniel has already won. He has made a big name for himself and he has got the pressure to deliver,” said the 35-year-old Joyce (11-0, 10 KOs).
“I don’t know why [Dubois is favourite], but it is okay because it will be better when I beat him because I will take his scalp, how he has been built and take it further.
“This is a big fight and it is a big ladder to the top or a snake where I would have to rebuild. So the loser will have to rebuild a little bit and Daniel has got time more on his side because he is a young pup who would definitely be able to come back.
“I’d be able to come back, too, but I don’t plan to do that. This is my chance to show what I am made of and to progress to the next stage and get a shot to become heavyweight champion.
“That is the route I am going. My aim before was to get to the Olympics and win a medal, so I completed that, although it was meant to be the gold medal and that didn’t happen [Joyce won silver in the Rio 2016 Games].
“As a professional, I want to be world champion and this is the route I need to go down and Dubois is standing in my way right now.”