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Daniel Dubois Has Incredible Recovery To Stop Kevin Lerena After Being Floored Three Times

Written by Kerr Ferguson on 3rd December 2022.

Daniel Dubois and Kevin Lerena Fight

Daniel Dubois stood from the canvas three times in his stoppage victory over South African challenger, Kevin Lerena, retaining his WBA (Regular) Heavyweight title.

Before the bell, ‘Dynamite’ Dubois held a record of 18 wins, with 17 ending inside the distance, and one loss – that blemish coming at the heavy hands of Joe Joyce back in 2020. His last outing was a fourth round knockout of Trevor Bryan in America.

Lerena entered the ring with a record of 28-1 – avenging his only loss in a rematch down in the cruiserweight ranks. This was to be his fourth contest at heavyweight.

Dubois was announced as the WBA Heavyweight Champion of the World entering the ring – confusing anybody who was tuning in to this as their first boxing event. Whilst his belt holds him in good standing, the real – or super – champion, Oleksandr Usyk, was watching at ringside.

Five of the Dubois’ wins have come inside the first round, but he started out more cautiously tonight, throwing out a stiff jab to stop Lerena making his way in.

When he did open up, Lerena fired back and, quite unbelievably, dropped Dubois with a shot to the top of the head. He beat the count to be sent straight back down – 30 seconds to go in the first and legs extremely wobbly. He took a knee again and was saved by the bell.

An absolutely shocking round for the home fighter who just seemed to be unable to recover. His words in the corner were negative and he glanced down to a troubled leg that trainer Shane McGuigan would later guess to be potential ligament damage.

The South African came out for the second the most confident man in London, but didn’t rush his work. ‘Triple D’ still didn’t look right, but managed to get off a decent combination before catching a left hook on the top of the head. He moved away from Lerena, something very few, if any, expected to be the story.

Lumbering was the way to describe Dubois’ movement around the ring. If it was to be an leg injury, the London fighter seemed to be facing the very tough decision of bowing out from injury for the second time in his career. McGuigan presented a tentative plan to keep him in the contest, but injuries in the ring rarely get better as rounds go on.

After a much more even third, Dubois dropped Lerena with a straight right towards the end. When Lerena rose, the young champ fought like there was no tomorrow, layering heavy, heavy shots onto the South African that caused him to slump into the ropes right on the bell.

There was one more shot fired after the fact. A count began from ringside, but Referee Howard Foster waved it off.

Considering Dubois was given a count at the same time in the first, many might say the stoppage seemed quick.

Dubois smiled through sheer relief. Nature of the stoppage aside, it was an incredible show of heart by a likely injured fighter who was previously tarred by the ‘quitter’ brush in his career. A defining performance, mentally more than physically – although some of the top men in the division will fancy their chances.