WBA ‘world’ title defence doesn’t prove to be an seamless night’s work for Daniel Dubois

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Daniel Dubois is still WBA ‘world’ heavyweight champion but his title defence against the unheralded Kevin Lerena was anything but the cakewalk expected by many.

On paper it looked as if the Greenwich boxer would make quick and easy work of the South African challenger, who had formerly fought at cruiserweight and had a distinct physical disadvantage.

But Lerena dropped Dubois early in the first round and the home fighter went down twice more before the bell sounded – without taking a punch – as he looked set to suffer a second career loss that would have been hugely damaging.

Dubois’ camp blamed those extra trips to the canvas on him suffering damage to his right knee from the first knockdown. It definitely looked as if he had a balance issue after that when he tried to attack.

Dubois, 25, was just lucky that he was not in with one of the division’s leading lights. If he had been then his prospects of surviving would have been wafer slim.

Instead Lerena let him off the hook. Or rather, he didn’t throw any of them. Dubois still looked vulnerable and shaken up in the second round but he was allowed to jab and move without being put under any serious pressure.

“You’re going to have to be very selective – very, very cagey – because your knee is going when you over-extend,” was the sound advice from trainer Shane McGuigan at the end of the second round.

Dubois fired a straight right to send Lerena down in the third round and did not pass up the opportunity to close the show.

A big right uppercut rocked Lerena against the ropes with referee Howard Foster waving the contest over after the bell sounded.

It looked a premature stoppage. Not only had Dubois violated the rules with a couple of late punches but Lerena was also still on his feet. If the roles had been reversed, it’s hard to imagine that Foster would not have at least given the South Londoner the minute’s respite to see how he recovered.

Dubois upped his record to 19-1 – 18 of those inside-the-distance wins – but the truth is that he has been very carefully matched since quitting in the 10th round against Joe Joyce in 2020.

McGuigan wants to see his charge matched with Brixton’s Dillian Whyte or another name in the sport to help boost Dubois’ profile.

The wobble against Lerena and reverse to Joyce will ensure there are no shortage of boxers ready to face him.

“I got caught on the head and after that I thought ‘where is the shot coming from?’ because I didn’t see it,” said Dubois.

“The knee went. I recovered quickly and got my senses back together.

“In the first round I wasn’t really on it. I was there but I wasn’t really there in my mind. I was in a trance. When I got knocked down I got back up thinking ‘I’m in a fight’. I was awake then.

“I’ve got to learn a few lessons after this, for sure. I’ve got to get the knee checked out and work on warming up properly, being lively and fiery.

“But I’ll come back stronger and properly on it next time.

“I got the victory but it was crazy. It was really strange.

“I need to get more active. I’ve been a bit inactive and that may have played a role in it as well.”

Dubois has won four in a row since linking up with McGuigan.

He split from Mark Tibbs in May 2021, six months after losing his unbeaten record to Joyce.

“I think he has done his ligaments in his knee, you could see there was no strength there,” said McGuigan.

“When he was trying to punch in the first round his knee was buckling. We’re obviously going to go and get a scan on it. It’s sink or swim in those situations and he swam well.

“I said to him: ‘All you’ve got to do is try and walk him on to shots’. When he was over-extending you could see he had no strength in the back leg because he’s obviously twisted it when he’s gone down.

“It was heart in the mouth stuff for me and I’m sure Frank [Warren, promoter] but we got there in the end. He got a great knockout.”

Former GB amateur Dubois turned professional with Warren in 2017. The Queensberry Promotions boss backed Foster’s decision to rescue Lerena.

“It was spot on,” he said. “He was catching him with powerful punches. Otherwise it would only have prolonged what would happen in the next round – because he [Dubois] was finding his range and getting his shots away by then.”

PICTURES: QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS