Rob Tebbutt looks over five of Daniel’s heaviest stoppages.
5. Bogdan Dinu
Fresh off the first loss of his career against Joe Joyce in November 2020, Dubois returned under the stewardship of new trainer Shane McGuigan for a bout against Bogdan Dinu in June of the following year.
While, at best, a fringe-level gatekeeper, Dinu had given heavyweight contenders Jarrell Miller and Kubrat Pulev four and seven rounds, respectively, in his only two losses to that point.
Nevertheless, the Romanian was seen as a safe opponent to launch the Dubois rebuild job, and so he proved to be, with Dubois uncorking a monstrous overhand right 31 seconds into the second round to send Dinu crumpling to the canvas, securing Dubois’ return to winning ways in emphatic fashion.
TELFORD, ENGLAND – JUNE 05: Daniel Dubois (R) punches Bogdan Dinu during the World Boxing Association Interim World Heavy Title fight between Daniel Dubois and Bogdan Dinu at Telford International Centre on June 05, 2021 in Telford, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
4. Kevin Lerena
Although not the cleanest knockout on the list, Dubois’ third-round TKO win over Kevin Lerena on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s trilogy bout with Derek Chisora will take some beating in the drama department.
After a wild opener that saw Dubois sent to the canvas three times himself, the Londoner managed to haul himself back from the abyss in tremendously brave – and brutal – fashion, safely navigating the second round before dropping Lerena with a heavy straight right hand with 44 seconds to go in the third.
Dubois would go on to close the show in ruthless fashion, with a thudding right uppercut snapping Lerena’s head back against the ropes, forcing referee Howard Foster to step in on the bell to end the third.
The dramatic, come-from-behind win was (and arguably still is) the most important of Dubois’ career.
3. Trevor Bryan
Dubois travelled to Miami in June 2022 in order to challenge unbeaten American Trevor Bryan, the then-holder of the lightly-regarded WBA Regular title and Don King’s latest heavyweight hope.
Despite being the defending champion, Bryan seemed more intent on keeping himself out of harm’s way than attempting to win the fight, with three fairly cumbersome rounds passing in favour of Dubois, but without any real damage of note.
However, that would change in the fourth when Dubois found the target with a short lead-left hook that momentarily switched Bryan’s lights out, sending The New York native bouncing face-first onto the canvas before he bravely (and unsuccessfully) tried to beat the count.
2. AJ Carter
Number two on the list comes from one of Dubois’ early career outings when the then-20-year-old squared off against Brixton’s AJ Carter for the Southern Area heavyweight title.
The fight, as expected, was a mismatch. Dubois scored two knockdowns in the opening thirty seconds of the first round, both courtesy of right hands, before closing the show in merciless fashion shortly after.
Carter, still clearly feeling the effects of the two prior knockdowns, was inconceivably allowed to continue by referee Lee Cook, prompting Dubois to finish the job with another howitzer right hand that rendered Carter unconscious, face down on the canvas.
1. Kyotaro Fujimoto
Just pipping Dubois’ KO of Carter to the post was another crunching one-punch knockout win, this time coming in a second-round KO win over unheralded Japanese sideshow Kyotaro Fujimoto in December 2019.
Though Fujimoto boasted a shiny record of 21-1 (13 KOs), it became apparent as early as the public workout that, perhaps, he may not prove to be Dubois’ stiffest opposition. A trip to Winter Wonderland and a hot dog later, Fujimoto found himself in the unenviable position of being in the opposite corner at Hackney’s Copper Box Arena for what turned out to be the most brutal KO of Dubois’ career so far.
After scoring a knockdown with a jab at the start of the second round, Dubois followed up later in the session with a thunderous right hand that sent Fujimoto crashing to the canvas with a thud.
Unlike Carter, Fujimoto fell onto his back, with a chilling camera shot of his glazed over eyes staring absently into the distance…
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: Daniel Dubois knocks out Kyotaro Fujimoto during the WBC Silver and WBO International Heavyweight Title fight between Daniel Dubois and Kyotaro Fujimoto at Copper Box Arena on December 21, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
