By Peter Axline: In an exciting war, unbeaten Daniel Dubois (12-0, 11 KOs) defeated Nathan Gorman (16-1, 11 KOs) by a fifth round knockout to win the vacant British heavyweight title on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Dubois, 21, knocked Gorman to the canvas with a hard right hand in the fifth round. The referee Victor Loughlin then stopped the contest. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:41 of round five.
Earlier in the fight, the 6’5′ Dubois knocked Gorman down with a chopping right hand in the third round. Gorman fought well after getting back to his feet. He clipped Dubois with hard left hand when he was attempting to finish him off.
The positive:
- Dubois’ right hand punching power looked extraordinary tonight. There aren’t too many heavyweight in the division that would have been able to stand up to his right hand shots
- Still only 21, Dubois is going to keep getting better for the next six to seven years before he tops out. It’s scary to think how good Dubois could be when he reaches his peak
- Jab – Dubois’ jab was excellent tonight. It helped setup everything he threw.
The negative:
- Dubois’ movement is slow, and he’s there to be hit by the better heavyweights in the division. If he’d been inside the ring with WBC champion Deontay Wilder tonight, he would have likely been knocked out in the first round. Dubois needs to work on his defense before he shares the ring with the likes of Wilder and Anthony Joshua
Joe Joyce defeats Bryant Jennings
Undefeated heavyweight contender Joe Joyce (10-0, 9 KOs) had to battle hard to win a 12 round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Bryant Jennings (24-4, 14 KOs).
The referee Steve Gray docked Jennings a point in round 10 for throwing a low blow. However the shot looked like it was on the belt-line. The referee Gray had warned Joyce for low blows during the fight, but not Jennings. It’s interesting that Jennings lost a point. The point deduction didn’t have a bearing on the fight.
The judges scored it 118-108, 117-110, and 115-110. Boxing News 24 scored it 117-110 in Joyce’s favor. The 118-108 score was a bad one. Joyce won, but he didn’t win that wide. The referee that scored it that wide saw a different fight than the ones that the boxing public saw it. There’s no question that Joyce won the fight, but Jennings fought well enough to win three to four rounds.
Jennings, 34, hurt Joyce to the body in round 2 with a shot might have injured him. For the remainder of the fight, Joyce kept his right hand tucked closely to his side to guard against body shots from Jennings. Joyce’s power wasn’t there tonight. That might have been a result of the body shot he took in the second. Following the second, Joyce, 33, threw largely arm punches the remainder of the fight.
Underwhelming performance by Joyce
Overall, it wasn’t the kind of performance from Joyce that makes one believe that he would have a chance to unseat WBC champion Deontay Wilder or IBF/WBA/WBO champion Andy Ruiz Jr. Those two champions are a above Joyce in the talent department. It wouldn’t be a good idea for Joyce to fight either of those champions right now given the way he fought tonight. This was not the type of performance that Joyce needed to catch the eye of the boxing public.
Based off this win, Joyce can’t make a case that he deserves a title shot against any of the champions. He’s ranked #1 by the World Boxing Association and #14 WBC. WBA champion Ruiz Jr. would have embarrassed Joyce with his fast hand speed if he was in there with him tonight. Although Joyce has a good chin, he wouldn’t do well taking the speedy combinations from Ruiz for 12 rounds. Joyce without stood Jennings’ power shots, but he’s not a big puncher, and he wasn’t busy enough to cause him problems.
If Joyce had a rib injury tonight, then you can give him a pass for his pedestrian level performance against Jennings. He looked like he was genuinely hurt by a body shot from Jennings in the second round. That might explain why Joyce threw arm punches for the remainder of the fight, because he lacked power.
Joyce must find some power for him to compete at the highest levels of the heavyweight division. The World Boxing Association has given the 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joyce a #1 ranking, but he’s beaten no one to deserve that ranking. Tonight’s performance against Jennings suggests that he’s got a long ways to go before he’ll be ready for the likes of Wilder, Ruiz Jr., Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury. Those fighters are looking a lot better than Joyce right now.
Liam Williams defeats Karim Achour
The heavy handed Liam Williams (21-2-1, 16 KOs) quickly dispatched the normally durable Karim Achour (27-6-3, 4 KOs) in stopping him in the second round to win the vacant WBC middleweight title.
Williams, 27, knocked Achour down twice in the second round before referee the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. The official time of the stoppage was at 1:51 of round 2.
Williams caught the 32-year-old Achour with a hard right to the body in the second round that hurt him. Achour then backed up against the ropes, which trapped him for Williams to unload on with big shots. Moments later, Williams knocked Achour down with a right to the head. After Achour got back to his feet, Williams unloaded on Achour with tremendous shots, and put hi down a left hand. The fight was then wisely stopped by the referee.
Archie Sharp defeats Jordan McCorry – RESULTS
Undefeated WBO European super featherweight champion Archie Sharp )16-0, 8 KOs) defeated a game but limited Jordan McCorry (18-6-1, 4 KOs) by a one-sided 10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 98-91, 98-91 and 98-91. Boxing News 24 scored it 99-91 as well. Sharp dropped McCorry three times in the fight.
Sunny Edwards vs. Hiaram Gallardo – RESULTS
Undefeated super flyweight Sunny Edwards (12-0, 4 KOs) put on a great performance in beating Hiram Gallardo (12-3-2, 4 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision to claim the vacant IBF International 115 pound title. The scores were 99-90, 99-90 and 99-90. Edwards, who isn’t a big puncher, knocked Gallardo down in the second round.
