Following Daniel Dubois’ thrilling victory over Kevin Lerena, Barry McGuigan has provided an update on his injury.
Against the odds, Dubois was dropped early in his bout against the South African in which his WBA Heavyweight Regular Belt was on the line. The London man took a knee twice following the knockdown, marking a disastrous first round.
Whilst the shot that initially hurt ‘DDD’ was a good one, the two counts that followed seemed to come from a lack of recovery and an issue with his leg rather than more sustained damage.
After a cautious second, Dubois hurt and stopped his man in the third. Post-fight, trainer Shane McGuigan told the broadcast that his fighter had suffered a knee injury.
Shane’s father, Barry, has now provided an update on their champion to Pro Boxing Fans.
“Well, it’s interesting. Dan has a tear on his ACL, and as soon as we got the news that he had a tear on his ACL, suddenly he was offered the fight [with Usyk] – which he can’t have, he can’t box for six months now anyway because of the repair time.”
“He got hit on top of the head the last time, and when he stepped back he tore his ACL and his balance was very badly affected. He had to come back from adversity and he showed that he could do that. He kept his cool. Shane’s advice in the corner was great, kept him nice and relaxed, used his boxing skills, and walked Kevin Lerena on to that right hand and the finish was spectacular.”
Six months out isn’t ideal for the 25-year-old, whom many feel needs some more in-ring experience before taking on the men at the top of the pile.
The MgGuigans, however, don’t subscribe to that, and seem happy to pit him against some of the absolute best in the division.
“I don’t think it’s fair to make him fight when he’s unwell so he’ll need a leave of absence as it were, but he’s ready to fight the top guys. I’d rather he fought someone like [Anthony] Joshua or Tyson Fury rather than Usyk, cause Usyk is a bag of tricks and he’s a southpaw, but I’ve no fear of him fighting any of these guys.”
With his Regular belt, Dubois is in prime position for a shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s world title – in fact, the WBA have ordered it to happen. It’s expected though that an undisputed fight will take precedence, and the Ukrainian will first face off with Tyson Fury.
If that fight happens in March, and there’s no rematch clause in the contract, young Dubois may just see himself returning to the ring for a world title shot in the second half of 2023.