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After being stepped over as Joe Joyce’s next opponent, Philadelphia fan favorite Joey Dawejko is calling out the highly touted UK-based heavyweight for taking the easy road.
Since turning professional, Joyce, the outspoken 2016 Olympic Super-Heavyweight Silver Medal Winner and now Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Champion, has made a habit of publicly calling out the division’s top contenders and champions.
But Dawejko says Joyce’s antics may be just for show, and in reality, his representatives are very protective of their charge.
Dawejko (19-5-4, 11 KOs) says he was offered and accepted the opportunity to face Joyce (5-0, 5 KOs) on the undercard of former welterweight champions Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter’s Saturday, September 8, showdown at the Barclays Center – only to find out Joyce had instead chosen to face Ohio’s Devin Vargas.
Dawejko has spent his professional career as a respected gatekeeper in the division. The 28-year-old has had competitive battles with several of the division’s best and even gave top contender Jarrell Miller the only blot on his undefeated record when he held him to a draw in 2013.
Vargas was a successful amateur boxer, but the former Olympian has sputtered as a professional. He has lost five of his last eight fights and is coming off a first-round knockout loss.
“I got the call the other day from my manager saying we had an offer to fight him and we accepted,” explained Dawejko, “then I found out he took an easier fight. I’m kind of pissed off about it because it was a good opportunity for me. They chose the safe route because they’re definitely protecting him. They talk a good game, but at the end of the day they just want easy fights.”
Dawejko says exposing Joyce would have given him the chance to finally break through to the upper echelon.
“They’re building this guy like he’s something special and he’s not. I see nothing special about him. He has size, but that doesn’t matter. I don’t think he’s as good as people are making him out to be. I could definitely beat him. He’s big and slow and gets hit a lot and his defense isn’t there. I know I could beat him.”
Not giving up, Dawejko wants Joyce to know he’d be happy to face him in his next fight… if Joyce isn’t too timid.
“If he really wants to challenge himself, step up and fight me. I‘m ready to go at any time. I’ll fight him any day of the week.”
About Greg Cohen Promotions
One of boxing’s premier promotional outfits, Greg Cohen Promotions (GCP) is a well-respected name for staging world-class professional boxing events and promoting elite professional fighters throughout the world.
Founder and CEO Greg Cohen has been involved with professional boxing in various capacities since the late 1980s, honing his craft and establishing himself as a shrewd international boxing businessman.
Distinguished by his ability to spot and develop raw talent, Cohen first made promotional headlines for his expert guidance of, among many others, former WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout, who Cohen helped guide from unknown New Mexico prospect to elite pay-per-view level superstar.
In addition to Trout, Greg Cohen Promotions has worked with established names such as former unified and two-time heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman and all-time-great multiple-weight class world champion James “Lights Out” Toney.
Cohen currently promotes undefeated WBO NABO Heavyweight Champion a top contender Jarrell Miller, top-rated middleweight contender Robert Brant, and former WBO NABO Lightweight Champion and world-rated contender Mason Menard, among many others.
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