Olympian David Oliver Joyce is confident clinching the WBO European featherweight crown on Friday night is the first building block of a title-laden legacy.
‘The Punisher’ (9-0-KO7) takes on MTK Global team-mate Stephen Tiffney (10-1-KO6) for the crown on an historic #DXBUncovered show at Dubai’s Emirates Golf Club – live on ESPN+ and iFL TV.
Mullingar’s Joyce is expecting a tough battle with the Scot but believes his superior class will see him through.
Joyce said: “My amateur record shows what I’ve got but I’m probably not as well-known as some featherweight guys who’ve been on Anthony Joshua undercards and the like.
“I’m going to make my name as a pro, though, just as I did as an amateur. I want to be a worldwide name. I want people to remember me and talk about Davey Oliver Joyce – the European champion, the world champion.
“I’m not looking past Tiffney at all. I’m focused on that night and that title. I’m not going to rush anything. I won’t say that once I’ve become European champion, I’ll be straight on to a world title shot. I’ll let my management team decide.
“I’m going to win this, maybe defend it a couple of times and then decide when the time is right. I believe I’ve got the ability and talent to beat any featherweight. I’ll show how good I am on April 5.
“This is the best camp I’ve had since turning professional. I’ve been living a clean life and I’ve had some phenomenal sparring. I had some amazing rounds with Michael Conlan over in England – around 50 or 60 rounds.
“I learned a lot from sparring with Mick and talking to his trainer Adam Booth. I enjoyed it and everything has gone as planned.”
Joyce is joined on a stellar bill by several MTK Global team-mates – including Olympic champion plus fast-rising Kazakh Sultan Zaurbek, hard-hitting Australian Mateo Tapia and more.
Local fans will cheer on several of their heroes with Nigerian-born Aliu Bamidele Lasisi bidding for the WBC International super-flyweight title against Ricardo Blandon and Larry Abarra, Anahit Aroyan, Majid Al-Naqbi and Hasibullah Ahmadi also in action.
