Daniel Dubois wins WBA Interim heavyweight title as Bogdan Dinu proves no challenge

Daniel Dubois won the WBA Interim title last night as he took just two rounds to knock out Bogdan Dinu in Telford.

The Greenwich heavyweight, 23, had not boxed since eye damage saw him quit against Joe Joyce in November – the first blemish on his record.

Somehow Dinu was ranked fourth by the WBA despite two low-key wins since back-to-back stoppage losses against Jarrell Miller and Kubrat Pulev.

And the Romanian hit the deck the first time that Dubois clipped him with a right on the chin as he backed to the ropes. He failed to beat the count.

It was Dubois’ first fight with new trainer Shane McGuigan.

He said: “I want to get back in the mix.Whoever they bring up, I’ll knock them all out.

“I want to have the re-run again [with Joyce] and set it right. I need to keep listening to Shane and be the best I can be.”

Dubois has won 15 of his 16 bouts by stoppage. The only time he went the distance was with American veteran Kevin Johnson in 2018.

McGuigan said: “It was a fantastic performance. We didn’t have long [working together] but give us six months or a year and you’ll see the rest of it. He’ll be knocking on the doors with the big boys, trust me.

“Technically Dan just needs to improve. He needs to work on Dan Dubois, to be the best he can be from a physical, athletic and boxing standpoint. Once we get those fundamentals locked in I believe he can beat all these boys. I’ve never felt power like it on the pads. He just need to chip away technically and he is going to be an absolute nightmare.”

When asked what his first impressions after starting to work with Dubois, McGuigan said: “How good his legs were, how good his distance control was – he has got fantastic legs and has just got to use them a little bit more. Speed comes from the ground up. Sometimes he pours his punches out. The more he uses his feet and his legs then the more speed and power you’re going to see with Daniel Dubois.

“I know how good Joe is. He is an 18-and-a-half stone guy, he can punch and he has got a good workrate. I personally feel he [Dubois] needed one or two more tests [before that bout].”

Dubois’ younger sister Caroline qualified for Tokyo 2021 after two wins for GB Boxing at the European Olympic Boxing qualifiers in Paris over the weekend.

“This is just the start,” said Dubois. “It is a long road. She has just qualified for the Olympics, she has got to go for gold.”