By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBA ‘Regular’ Heavyweight Champion Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois will be defending his belt for the first time this Saturday, December 3rd when he takes on Kevin Lerena of Johannesburg in the champion’s hometown of London, England. The 12-rounder from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can be seen live in America on ESPN+ while fans in the UK can catch it on BT Sport Box Office on the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs Dereck Chisora tilt. Dubois last fought in June when he stopped Trevor Bryan in the fourth round to win the title while Lerena last boxed in September when he beat Mariusz Wach by 12-round unanimous decision to win the vacant IBO Intercontinental Heavyweight Belt.
The 25-year-old Dubois stopped Ebenezer Tetteh in the second round in September, 2019 for the vacant Commonwealth and WBO International heavyweight Titles after stopping Nathan Gorman in the fifth round in July, 2019 for the vacant British Heavyweight Title. However, he lost all of those belts to Joe Joyce in November, 2020 when he took a knee in the 10th round and decided not to carry on due to taking Joyce’s jabs all night long and suffering eye damage.
He returned seven months later and stopped Bogdan Dinu in the second round before halting Joe Cusumano in one and then beating Trevor Bryan for the WBA Regular Title. Dubois feels he’s in the same class as fellow Brits Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Joe Joyce but he hasn’t taken on any upper-class opponents other than Joyce and he fell short when he did.
The comparisons with those elite heavyweights are somewhat understandable at least physically as Dubois stands 6-feet-5-inches tall with a 78-inch reach and has a mark of 18-1. He’s also stopped 17 of his 19 opponents for a current knockout ratio of 89.5 per cent. Like Joshua, Dubois enjoyed a fine amateur career, reportedly losing just six of 75 bouts and winning gold medals at various tournaments. He didn’t fight in the Olympics though as he decided to turn pro instead.
Dubois has been brought along rather cautiously since making his pro debut in April, 2017 but has been pretty active as a pro with 19 fights but has just 60 rounds of experience under his belt due to his quick knockouts. His most recognizable opponents have included Bryan, Joyce, Dignu, Nathan Gorman, Kevin Johnson and Razvan Cojanu. The only two men who haven’t been stopped by Dubois have been Joyce and Johnson. He was outclassed by Joyce but oddly enough was ahead on two of the judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
Dubois usually tips the scales between 230 and 240 lbs and his career has been based on power. He can cause damage with either hand but isn’t the most mobile heavyweight in the ring. He has mediocre to decent hand speed but it’s still hard to say how good his chin is at this point since it hasn’t been tested with many power shots as Joyce was basically content to keep the jab in his face time all night.
Lerena is a 30-year-old southpaw who climbs through the ropes with a mark of 28-1 with 14 Ko’s and has boxed 192 rounds since making his pro debut in 2011. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. This means he’s giving up four inches in height to Dubois however. As far as power goes, Lerena is average at best with a current knockout ratio of 48.3 per cent.
Since turning pro, Lerena has also won the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight Belt as well as the WBC Youth Silver, WBF African, South African and Pan African Cruiserweight Titles. He also captured the vacant IBO World Cruiserweight Title, which he then defended six times before moving up to the heavyweight division.
The lone loss on Lerena’s pro record came at the hands of Johnny Muller in 2014 by way of a 10-round unanimous decision. His biggest wins have come against Muller in a rematch as well as Roberto Bolonti, Micki Nielson, Youri Kalenga, Dmytro Kucher, Artur Mann, Sefer Seferi, Firat Arslan, Bogdan Dinu and Mariusz Wach. Lerena may be relatively unknown in most parts of the world but is an accomplished boxer with fine skills.
Prediction…
Dubois is a threat to just about every heavyweight out there due to his power but his limited mobility could see him get off to a slow start against Lerena if he doesn’t catch him early. Lerena might surprise a few people including Dubois here but his lack of power means Dubois will likely take a few risks later in the fight if Lerena is still hanging around. Due to his age and power, Dubois is expected to win this fight and I’d agree with that. However, it might be a lot closer than many experts think.
