By Charles Brun: WBA regular heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois will need six months out of the ring to recover from a torn ACL he suffered against unheralded fighter Kevin Lerena says Barry McGuigan.
According to McGuigan, Dubois is ready for “the top guys” in the division after his performance against Lerena. Sadly, that view seems to be a bit deluded because if Dubois can’t even handle a fighter like Lerena, how in the world will he ever beat these heavyweights?
- Oleksandr Usyk
- Deontay Wilder
- Anthony Joshua
- Tyson Fury
- Joe Joyce
- Andy Ruiz
- Arslanbek Makhmudov
- Frank Sanchez
If Dubois’ promoter puts him in with those heavyweights, his career will soon be over, and he’ll be just another ham & egger bottom dweller.
Dubois suffered the injury in his defense against the South African Lerena (28-2, 14 KOs) when he was staggered and dropped by a left hand in the first round on December 3rd in their chief support bout on the Tyson Fury vs. Derek Chisora III card at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London.
Lerena dropped the 6’5″ Dubois two more times in the round, and many boxing fans believe the fight should have been stopped, given the condition for Daniel.
His punch resistance was totally gone after the first knockdown, and he was getting toppled by almost every punch the 30-year-old Lerena threw.
McGuigan finds it interesting that now that the 25-year-old Dubois is injured with the ACL problem, WBA full champion Oleksander Usyk expressed a desire to fight him.
Barry says he prefers Dubois to fight Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury next than Usyk because the Ukrainian fighter is tricky and he has a southpaw stance.
In reality, Dubois probably won’t get a fight against Joshua or Fury in 2023 or 2024, and his career could soon be derailed if he continues struggling.
Dubois already lost to Joe Joyce, and Lerena would have beaten him if the referee had done the sensible thing by halting the contest after his leg injury.
Lerena made a colossal blunder by not going for the finish at the start of round two because Dubois was there for the taking.
“Dan [Dubois] has a tear on his ACL,” said Barry McGuigan to Pro Boxing Fans about the injury WBA secondary heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois suffered against little-known Kevin Lerena on December 3rd.
“As soon as we got the news that he had a tear on his ACL, suddenly he was offered the fight [with WBA full heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk]. He can’t box for six months because of the repair time.
“He’s ready to fight the top guys. I’d rather he fight someone like Joshua or Tyson Fury because Usyk is a bag of tricks, and he’s a southpaw.
“He got hit on top of the head last time, and when he stepped back, he tore his ACL, and his balance was badly affected,” said Barry about Dubois.
