By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten heavyweight hopeful Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois steps back into the ring this Saturday, July 13th when he takes fellow undefeated Englishman Nathan Gorman for the vacant British Title. The 12-round bout will be held at the O2 Arena in London and shown live in the UK on BT Sport 1 and live in America on ESPN+. Dubois last fought in April when he stopped Richard Lartey in the fourth round. Gorman’s last action came in March when he beat veteran journeyman Kevin Johnson by a 10-round decision.
Dubois is a 21-year-old native of London with a perfect mark of 11-0 with 10 Kos and he’s more or less being groomed as the next great British heavyweight. In fact, he reportedly dropped Anthony Joshua a couple of years ago during a sparring session and is often compared to Joshua. Those comparisons are easy to understand as Dubois stands 6-feet-5-inches tall with a 78-inch reach and has stopped 10 of his 11 opponents for a 91 per cent knockout ratio. He enjoyed a fine amateur career, 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 relatively slowly since turning pro in April of 2017. He’s been active but has just 33 rounds of experience under his belt due to his power. His opponents thus far have been Marcus Kelly (TKO-1), Blaise Mendouo (TKO-2), David Howe (KO-1), Mauricio Barragan (KO-2), AJ Carter (TKO-1), Dorian Darch (TKO-2), DL Jones (TKO-3), Tom Little (TKO-5), Kevin Johnson (points 10), Razvan Cojanu (KO-2) and Lartey (TKO-4). This will be Dubois’ third straight bout against a recognizable opponent.
Dubois usually tips the scales between 230 and 240 lbs and his career has been based on his power. He can cause damage with either hand but isn’t really the most mobile heavyweight in the ring. He has decent hand speed though and is determined to make a name for himself in the division. It’s hard to say how good his chin is at this point since it hasn’t been tested but that may change against Gorman on Saturday night.
Gorman is just 23 years old and hails from Nantwich, Cheshire. He’s got 76 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2015. He’s currently 16-0 with 11 Kos and also has better than average power with a current knockout ratio of 69 per cent. Gorman was already a heavyweight at the age of 15 and although he spent several years as an amateur he fought just 12 times and won 11 bouts. Since turning pro he’s won a British regional title and beat Mohamed Soltby by unanimous decision for the WBC International Silver Heavyweight Title in November of 2017.
Like Dubois, Gorman also took on Kevin Johnson and beat him by a 10-round decision in March and their other common opponent is Razvan Cojanu, who Gorman beat by 12-round unanimous decision last December. Other than those two foes, it’s hard to recognize anybody else on Gorman’s list of opponents. He stands just over 6-feet-4-inches tall so gives up 1.5-inches in height to Dubois and his 73-inch reach means he has a five-inch disadvantage in that department.
Prediction…
Fans are expecting a knockout here between the two power punchers and there’s a lot of bragging rights on the line since it’s for the British Title. This is a decent test for both young men and although Dubois is favoured it might not be a walk in the park for him. This has the potential to turn into a slugfest and if it does I expect Dubois to eventually come out on top…unless his chin is like Joshua’s too.
