Daniel Dubois knocked out Nathan Gorman to win the vacant BBBofC British heavyweight title at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night.
"Dynamite" (12-0, 11 KOs) put on an impressive performance in front of his hometown fans and set up a possible matchup against Joe Joyce, who picked up a victory on the undercard.
The 21-year-old London native started quickly in what resembled a shootout as both fighters threw caution to the wind in search of a fight-ending punch. Dubois caught Gorman (16-1, 11 KOs) in the second with a right hook that buckled the knees of the Cheshire-born fighter before the pair exchanged a wild flurry of punches.
Gorman continued to take punishment in the third and was down after a flurry of punches from Dubois. A big right hand from Dubois sealed Gorman's fate in the fifth round as the referee stepped in to end the fight.
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Joe Joyce defeats Bryant Jennings via unanimous decision
Joyce (10-0, nine KOs) continued his unbeaten run with a hard-fought victory over Jennings to retain his WBA gold heavyweight title, winning 118-109, 117-110, 115-112 on the judges' scorecards.
The Olympic silver medallist was making his second defense of the title he won from Bermane Stiverne in February. Coming off a defeat against Oscar Rivas, Jennings (24-4, 14 KOs) took advantage of a slow start by Joyce to land cleanly in the early rounds. A body shot from Jennings hurt Joyce, but the American fighter was unable to capitalize. Jennings continued to attack the body as Joyce walked him down, absorbing punishment as he sought an opening to counter.
In the third frame, Joyce upped his work rate and started to get his rhythm back. There was a fair bit of showboating from Joyce — including an "Ali shuffle" — and when Jennings threw a poorly timed hook, Joyce looked into the crowd to see where it landed.
Both men traded blows as the fight entered the final rounds, with Jennings warned four times for low blows and eventually deducted a point. In the 10th round, a big left hand from Joyce got through the guard and rocked Jennings. In the end, Joyce's power and conditioning saw him through to the final bell for the clear victory.
Also on the card:
- Liam Williams def. Karim Achour; for the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title
- Archie Sharp def. Jordan McCorry to retain his WBO European super featherweight title
- Sunny Edwards def. Hiram Gallardo; for the vacant IBF International super flyweight title
- Dennis McCann def. Jerson Larios; bantamweights
- Willy Hutchinson def. Josip Perkovic; super middleweights
- Jonathan Palata def. Ferenc Zsalek; heavyweights
- Hamzah Sheeraz def. Scott James; super welterweights
- Micky Burke def. Michael Williams; welterweights
- Mark Chamberlain def. Sergio Gonzalez; lightweights
- Jake Pettitt def. Evlis Guillen; super bantamweights
- Florian Marku def. Tommy Broadbent; welterweights