JOE JOYCE will fight a man on a mission on Saturday night as German Heavyweight Michael Wallisch has again stated his intention to derail The Juggernaut’s journey to the O2 Arena and Daniel Dubois.
Should Joyce (10-0, 9KO’s) topple Wallisch (23-0, 13KO’s) on Saturday night, he’ll have fulfilled his half of the bargain and booked his spot on the top of the bill at the O2 Arena, London on October 24th.
All that will be left then is for Daniel Dubois (14-0, 13KO’s) to beat Wallisch’s teammate Erik Pfeifer (7-0, 5KO’s) on August 29th and the huge domestic showdown between ‘Dynamite’ and Joyce will be booked.
Both German’s were in town for a press conference yesterday hyping their upcoming fights with their British opponents and Wallisch made clear he intends to kill any hopes of the all-English clash later this year.
Introducing himself to the UK audience he said: “My name is Michael Wallisch, Heavyweight Division of Germany, and i’ve come to f*ck up the fight.”
Amateur standout Erik Pfeifer echoed that sentiment by saying that he was “here to beat Daniel Dubois.”
The pair are stiff challenges for Dubois and Joyce, with many saying that Dubois’ opponent in particular represents the toughest challenge of Daniel’s short career.
Veteran Wallisch understands the British fans’ hunger for the ‘Seek and Destroy’ branded scrap between the two Frank Warren Heavyweights but insists his and Pfeifer’s eyes are on the biggest prize in all of boxing.
“The plan is to ruin the fight between Dubois and Joyce. We’re thinking about which of us is winning, who’ll fight the other guy (in October) and then the winner wants to fight Tyson Fury in England.”
Both Dubois and Joyce were on-hand yesterday but at times seemed more motivated by staring each other down, and Wallisch believes that complacency could be what costs Joe on Saturday night.
“He should never underestimate me.
“I’m an old wolf in this business. I know you should never underestimate anyone and he shouldn’t underestimate me.”
Pfeifer, who had a stellar amateur career that took in two Olympic games, two World Championship Bronze medals and two victories over Tony Yoka, doesn’t believe that Dubois knows what he’s up against when the pair touch gloves.
“I’m Dubois’ toughest opponent. He hasn’t fought a strong fighter before.
“He’s a stepping stone in my way and I’ll push him aside.”
Pushed to give a prediction for this Saturday night when Wallisch and Joyce collide, confident Pfeifer simply said: “Wallisch will win.”
Despite their dastardly intentions to spoil British boxing’s biggest party, Wallisch looks forward to fighting in England as he recognises it as one of the great boxing markets in the world.
“We love to fight in England. England is one of the best countries to fight in.”
That said, English fans should expect no favours from their European cousins.
“The Germans are coming. And we will win.”
