Daniel Dubois has world champion written all over him, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury should be looking over their shoulder – The Sun
DYNAMITE Daniel Dubois’ brilliant victory was sadly buried beneath the euphoria that came out of Lord’s and Wimbledon last Sunday.
Make no mistake, a new star was born when Dubois took less than 15 minutes to flatten Nathan Gorman, to win the British heavyweight title at the O2 Arena, the night before.
Triple D gave a mighty impressive display of controlled power- punching that overwhelmed the previously unbeaten Gorman.
Considering Dubois is only 21 — the third youngest behind Joe Bugner and Herbie Hide to hold the belt — it was an awesome performance showing a maturity way beyond his years.
Most of the leading British heavyweights I have seen over the last 50-odd years have been a pretty mediocre bunch.
Every so often a youngster emerges who has the wow factor and the potential to develop into a formidable force on the world stage.
It certainly wasn’t difficult to predict Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis and Anthony Joshua were going to be something special.
Bearing in mind statistics are no substitute for judgment, it’s interesting to compare the beginning of their championship careers with Daniel’s.
Bruno was 24 when he won his first title, the European, in his 27th fight. Lewis was 25 and Joshua 23 and were both having their 15th fights when they held the British crown.
Dubois, who had just a handful of senior amateur bouts, has now had 12.
It’s testimony to his trainer, the unsung Martin Bowers, who has done a magnificent job taking the rawest of raw recruits and turning him into a champion.
Predicting success for novice heavyweights has a nasty habit of biting you on the backside. But I have no hesitation in saying Dubois has future world heavyweight champion written all over him.
When I first interviewed the teenage Dubois more than two years ago, he had given up the opportunity of boxing for Great Britain at next year’s Tokyo Olympics — there’s no doubt he would have been favourite for the gold medal.
He said: “I know I’m going to learn so much more as a pro fighter. And by the time the end of 2020 comes around I expect to be the world champion.”
From what I saw at the weekend he is well on his way. It’s not just the fact he has a KO punch in both hands that excites me.
Bowers has drilled into him the importance of having a potent and accurate left jab.
Every great heavyweight through the ages — Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson and Lewis — used theirs to perfection.
It isn’t just a vital points scorer but a weapon that can hurt and intimidate opponents.
Dubois used his superbly. It made the openings for the heavy artillery that saw off Gorman so quickly.
Daniel is a man of few words but seems to have a perfect temperament, with no fears about fame.
He added: “I was definitely born for this. I don’t shy away from pressure — I embrace it.”
Once inside the ropes he does his job ruthlessly and efficiently.
His promoter Frank Warren now has the task of finding Dubois the right opponents to further his ring education on his way to challenging for the richest prize in sport.
And if I was Joshua and Tyson Fury in about 18 months, I would start looking over my shoulder because by then Dubois will be ready to take over as Britain’s No 1.
Source: Read Full Article