Heavyweight contender Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois 20-2 (19) got one back on his critics with a 10th round knockout of fringe contender Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller 26-1-1 (22) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
The 26-year-old Brit had been labelled a two-time quitter by American Miller, 35, who said in the build up to the fight that Dubois opted out of battle in his two professional losses to unified heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) and fellow contender Joe Joyce 15-2 (14).
Dubois had the better of the early going but Miller began creeping back into the fight in the third and fourth rounds. The fifth and sixth were close before the younger, fitter and almost 100-pound lighter Dubois came on strongly down the stretch, battering Miller to force a final round stoppage at 2:52 of the 10th.
It was a redemption victory for Dubois, who has copped more than his fair share of criticism for his two losses.
“I had to dig deep, he came for work, I am glad I came through, I showed my heart,” said Dubois after the fight.
“I’m a prideful fighter and I always want to come forward, but I’m just glad I came through this. I give him respect, he gave me a good fight. I’m learning new thing every day.
“The confidence that might have been missing before, I regained it tonight.”
He added: “I’m glad I did it. I had to prove it to myself. I had to show to myself I was a real fighter. I showed all the doubters tonight. I want to fight the best. I want to fight all the best fighters.”
Miller, who has been popped twice for illegal performance enhancing drugs, is one of the best smack talkers in the game, but he gave credit to Dubois after his first professional loss.
“Daniel D is no quitter,” said Miller. “I’ve been inactive, I took this fight on four weeks’ notice. DDD has my respect. I’ll be back, baby.”
Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren was confident that his boxer had more to offer than people were giving him credit for.
“A lot of people are writing him off, saying that if he gets put under pressure, he will fold. We will see,” the Queensberry Promotions boss said to Boxing News.
“He can punch in both. He’s got big punching power in both hands. He’s got good foot speed. He’s got very good hand speed. He’s got a fabulous jab when he uses it. He’s got to show that he’s got desire and heart.”
“He can punch in both. He’s got big punching power in both hands. He’s got good foot speed. He’s got very good hand speed. He’s got a fabulous jab when he uses it. He’s got to show that he’s got desire and heart.”
Before the fight, the normally softly spoken Dubois had this to say about his opponent: “Yo, Big Baby. Every baby has a daddy. I’m gonna beat you like I’m your daddy. What’s up?”
As it turned out, Dubois was true to his word.
