Daniel Dubois has won the WBA 'regular' heavyweight title with the fourth-round stoppage of Trevor Bryan in Miami.
Despite participating in just three rounds since the first professional loss of his career to Joe Joyce in 2020, Dubois was the massive odds-on favourite to dethrone the unbeaten American.
Many had tipped an early knockout and as expected, Dubois was the only fighter throwing any threatening punches during the opening session.
The 24-year-old was having reasonable success, even with Bryan fighting defensively, but Dubois made a significant breakthrough towards the end of the third.
Even though Bryan survived the round, a definitive conclusion to a one-sided contest did not look far away, and a big left hand soon sent the home fighter sprawling face first to the canvas.
To his credit, Bryan attempted to get back to his feet but the referee correctly waved off the fight at the count of eight, ensuring that Dubois picked up the biggest win of his career in front of a sparse crowd in Florida.
Although Dubois now holds a version of the world title, it is not the most sought-after belt with the organisation, Oleksandr Usyk possessing the WBA 'super' heavyweight crown.
However, Dubois is now mandatory challenger for that belt, the British fighter now waiting to discover who wins the rematch between Usyk and Anthony Joshua in August.
Dubois will target another bout in the interim, the newly-crowned champion's trainer Shane McGuigan naming Dillian Whyte as a potential opponent.
Darren Plant
