Daniel Dubois turned defeat into victory on Saturday. Quickly.
The heavyweight contender survived three first-round knocks to stop Kevn Lerena at the end of Round 3 in a wild heavyweight bout on the Tyson Fury-Derek Chisora card at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Left-handed Lerena (28-2, 14 KOs) injured Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) with a left header to the head in the opening round, causing Dubois to be knocked out for the first time. The Londoner, still seemingly dazed and defenseless, then deliberately descended two more times.
The 25-year-old candidate was in serious trouble. However, Lerena did not take advantage of the opponent’s physical condition, but instead boxed carefully.
That gives Dubois time to regain his balance and bounce back. In the final round, Dubois knocked Lerena down and injured him with a straight right hit. The South African was able to get up but collapsed under a series of subsequent punches near the end of the round, causing the referee to stop the match.
Dubois has now won four straight games since being stopped by Joe Joyce in the 10th round in November 2020.
Lerena, a former heavyweight boxer, hasn’t lost a fight since 2014. This was the 30-year-old’s fourth fight as a full-fledged heavyweight.
