Dubois Lands Dynamite On Dinu
Author: Neil Johnstone
Daniel Dubois made light work of Bogdan Dinu 20(16)-3, knocking out the Bulgarian in the opening 30 seconds of the second round. After shaking off the cobwebs in the first round, showing a balanced mixture of patience and activity, Dubois forced the action early in the second round landing a picture perfect right to Dinu’s chin.
An elated Dubois said to BT Sport: “It’s been a very rough ride and I’m glad to be back…I listened to what Shane told me and I just stuck to the instructions and it all happened, it’s great.”
This was Dubois’ first outing since suffering an orbital bone and cornea injury last November, at the hands of Joe Joyce. Now he holds the WBA interim belt and looks towards a bright future. In answering questions concerning his mental recovery over the Joyce loss, he replied:
“I want to get back in the mix…I’m learning new things in the gym, we’re gonna get there man.”
Trainer, Shane McGuigan, added: “I think that was a fantastic performance. We didn’t have long but give us six months, a year, and you’ll see the best of him.”
Dubois, 23, now moves to 16(15)-1 .
Earlier, the lively 1000 fans were treated to an action packed night of boxing at the Telford International Centre.
In the co-main event, crowd favourite Nathan Heaney moved to 12 (4)-0 after dispatching Iliyan Markov (6-15-2) in the third round with a well paced right hook to the body. ‘The Hitman’ outclassed his Bulgarian opponent from the opening bell, landing crisp combinations on his noticeably smaller opponent. A jubilant Heaney, who brought 600 of his own fans to the stadium, celebrated with his signature chorus of ‘Delilah’ with his fans, making the stadium appear to be at full capacity.
Tommy Fury overcame a game Jordan Grant over four rounds in what will place the prospect in good stead for the future. The ice-cold staredown between the two men set the tone for what would unfold: 12 minutes of relentless punching.
Fury was forced to box on the back foot as Scotsman Grant came out aggressive and energetic. The intentions were clear; Fury wanted to box, whereas Grant’s preference was to brawl. Fury managed to slow the fight down via a steady left jab, but he was forced in to being careful throughout the fight. By the end of the third round Fury had asserted his dominance, landing flush combinations to body and head. Though Grant made a good account of himself, Fury was awarded all four rounds, moving to 6(4)-0.
Caoimhin Agyarko moved to 9(5)-0, beating Ernesto Olvera (11(3)-7-1) in three rounds. From the outset, ‘Black Thunder’ got the attention of his Mexican opponent, landing well timed, power shots, and displaying a technical superiority that made a knockout seem imminent. Telling body shots in the third took their toll and after several sustained attacks, Olvera’s corner announced that their man had retired at the end of the third.
English bantam weight champion, Liam Davies knocked Stephan Slavchev (11(4)-40-2) down four times before securing a knock out in the second round. Spurred on by his dedicated 200 fans, Davies, (9(4)-0) came out quickly, dropping Slavchev twice in the opening round with fast, accurate combinations. The third knockdown came inside the first 25 seconds of the second round; the fourth and final knockdown coming moments after, as a result of a further two sharp combinations.
Seven time national amateur champion, Adan Mohamed put on a punch perfect performance, displaying lighting fast hands and reflexes, balletic movement and an impressive array of shot selection, which made for an impressive second professional outing. Luke Fash was willing to assume the role of opponent and recorded his 60th professional loss. Mohamed cruised to a 40-36 win, progressing to 2-0.