By Tim Royner: Undefeated heavyweight prospect Daniel Dubois (7-0, 7 KOs) picked up his 7th consecutive knockout in stopping previously unbeaten 36-year-old journeyman DL Jones (8-1-1) in the 3rd round last Saturday night at York Hall, Bethnal Green in London, UK.
Dubois, 20, knocked the 6’5” Jones down with a right hand in the 3rd round. Referee Robert Williams then stopped the fight. The time of the stoppage was at 2:23 of round 3.
This wasn’t one of the better looking performances from the 6’5”, 238 pound Dubois. Jones was smothering Dubois early on by getting in close, clinching, wrestling and not giving him room to get leverage on his shots. Dubois responded initially by shoving, pulling down on the back of Jones’ head, and trying to back away to get space to deliver his power shots.
In round 2, Dubois adapted Jones’ smothering game plan by hitting him with uppercuts. It was still very messy inside. At one point in the round, Dubois pulled Jones’ head down with his left arm and then hit him with a big right-hand uppercut. The referee stood and watched without warning Dubois for fouling Jones by holding and hitting. Moments into the round, Dubois clipped Jones with a textbook rabbit punch to the back of his head that caused him to pitch forward and stumble several feet. It was a good rabbit punch.
To Jones’ credit, he stayed on his feet despite the tremendous clout he’d taken to the back of his head. Where Jones made a mistake in the round is by going to the corner and letting the very slow-looking Dubois tee off on a stationary target. With Jones stuck against the ropes, Dubois unloaded on him with everything but the kitchen sink. Jones was hit with uppercuts, hooks, body shots, you name it. He took the punches, but he didn’t have the sense enough to get off the ropes for some reason.
The 20-year-old Dubois looked slow of hand and foot. Dubois’s power looked good, but his hand speed was very slow, and he was getting hit on occasion whenever Jones would stop holding long enough to throw a punch. Dubois did a poor job of blocking the few shots Jones threw in the fight. Perhaps Dubois was so intent on knocking Jones out that he didn’t bother to worry about the punches he would throw from time to time.
Dubois still needs to be brought along slowly. The fight with Jones proved that clearly. Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren has a number of options available for Dubois’ next fight. It would good to see Dubois fight someone like Dereck Chisora, Nathan Gorman, Dillian Whyte or Joe Joyce, but those fights obviously aren’t going to happen. Dubois will be fighting next on the April 14th fight card headlined by Billy Joe Saunders vs. Martin Murray. Warren likely won’t put Dubois in with Gorman yet. That fight is going to be built up to make it bigger before he eventually makes it. Warren says Chisora, 34, could be a possibility for Dubois to fight by the end of the year. As for a match between Dubois and Gorman, that fight could be a year away from happening.
“I want to be the best,” Dubois said after the fight. “I have to keep working hard on improvements. He was awkward. He was tough. He was game and he brought a good challenge to me. I had to calm down, relax and stick to my boxing a bit. In the first round and a couple of rounds, I was a bit wild, but I maintained my composure and got the job done. Once there’s an opening and I have a chance, I go for it straightaway. Definitely, I’ll take on all challenges. When I’m fully prepared, I’ll take on all challenges and I’ll be confident of overcoming all of them,” Dubois said.
Dubois has the size and the punching power to make him a threat against any heavyweight in the division. Right now, it’s still too early for Dubois to be put in with the likes of the big dogs in the heavyweight division like Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua. In 3 to 5 years, Dubois should be ready to fight for a world title unless Warren wants to get him some more seasoning. Joshua might not be still at the top of the heavyweight division in 5 years. A lot of things change in the division in 5 years, and Joshua is starting to have problems with his stamina.
“He was awkward. He was a big guy,” Warren said about Jones. “A few times he was using his head. It was happening on the referee’s blind side. He did what he had to do. It’s all a learning experience. Once he’s got you in trouble, he’s an awesome finisher, and he done what he had to do. In some ways, you want him to get rounds under his belt. But on the other side, you want to see him finish a fight. That’s what people come for. I’m quite sure he [Dereck Chisora] is down the line,” Warren said when asked about a potential Dubois vs. Chisora fight in 2018. “Maybe by the end of the year we can do that. In the meantime, Daniel is fighting on the 14th of April on the undercard of Billy Joe Saunders and Terry Flanagan title defenses at the O2. So he’s going to be out again and we’re going to keep him busy. It would be silly to make that fight [Saunders vs. Nathan Gorman] now. It’s a fight that you want to build. He’s only had 7 fights. Nathan has had 12 now, so in a few more fights in a year’s time that could be a massive fight,” Warren said.
Chisora is on the downside of his career, and it’s unclear how much longer he’ll be useful as a viable opponent. It would be smart for Warren to match Dubois up against Chisora before he gets beaten by Joe Joyce. If Dubois faces Chisora after he’s lost to Joyce, he won’t get much credit from the boxing public. Chisora would be a great option for Dubois, as would someone like BJ Flores, Amir Mansour or Bryant Jennings.