Daniel Dubois claims vacant British heavyweight title with dominant fifth round knockout against Nathan Gorman 

Daniel Dubois stops Nathan Gorman in round five to claim the vacant British heavyweight crown
Daniel Dubois stops Nathan Gorman in round five to claim the vacant British heavyweight crown   Credit: James Chance/Getty Images

Heavyweight prospect Daniel Dubois continued his impressive rise with a fifth round knockout of Nathan Gorman last night at the O2 Arena, London, to earn his twelfth career victory, maintain his unbeaten record, and claim the vacant British heavyweight title.

The end came by a Dubois double-jab then a right hand two minutes and forty-one seconds into that fifth stanza, Gorman down for the second time. It was a dominant display by Dubois, showing power and poise, with the two men having sparred hundreds of rounds as amateurs. 

Perhaps most impressive from Dubois was how effective his jab was throughout the contest, followed by his devastating right hand. I had Dubois winning every round up to the fifth round finish. 

"Every fight is a learning fight, there is a lot to improve on. It's great to win the British title. I wanted to control the fight behind my jab and then land the right hand," said the newly-crowned British heavyweight champion.

"I felt his body language in there, and I thought I was winning it. There's still a lot to work on, and I'm grateful for everything. Who I fight next is up to my team, promoter Frank Warren, my dad..."     

Promoter Frank Warren added: "Daniel was very composed in the fight, and we saw Nathan has no quit in him. These are the two youngest fighters to fight for the British title. The key for me in this fight was the jab. And Daniel showed that. It was superb. I've said it all along, I think Daniel is the future of heavyweight boxing." 

The much-anticipated contest between the two undefeated heavyweights was immediately exciting with both men under pressure. Gorman looked sharp with his counters in the opening round, looking to box off the back foot against the advancing Londoner.

The fight ignited in the second, two good counter left hooks landed by Gorman, with Dubois coming forward aggressively, landing jabs with a big right hand following over the top. Gorman was then cut to the left eyebrow, as they both landed right hooks late in that second round, a strong one for Dubois. 

The power of Dubois told in the third, as he clubbed Gorman to the floor early in the stanza with a flurry of right hands, but the Nantwich man was not finished, throwing back bravely and showing true grit.

Dubois's very effective left jab was countered by the left hook of Gorman, who appeared unable to establish  his jab, although he rallied in that third stanza. 

When Gorman found his jab - finally - in the fourth, then foied two uppercuts off the ropes as he absorbed the attacks of Dubois, who was a constant, threatening menace to the shorter fighter. 

"Beat him up, break him down, don't try and hurt him," advised trainer Martin Bowers between rounds to his charge Dubois.

A right hand from Dubois staggered Gorman in the fifth, as the Nantwich man threw a left hand counter hook, but with thirty seconds left in the period, Gorman was down and counted out by referee Victor Loughlin, after Dubois had landed a pair of jabs followed by another powerful right hand. 

Earlier at the O2 Arena, London, last night, Rio Olympic Games superheavyweight silver medallist Joe Joyce claimed a points victory after having been taken the distance for the first time in his undefeated ten-fight career by former world title contender Bryant Jennings.

The Briton Joyce was the aggressor throughout, but could not find the openings to stop the durable yet unambitious American, who was deducted a point by referee Steve Gray for low blows. 

Joyce took the bout by unanimous decision 118-109, 117-110 and 115-112 on the judges' cards.

"It was hard, he caught me with a good body shot early on," said Joyce. "I'm used to getting them out of there early, and I guess I did learn from the fight. I used my experience and toughness to get me through. It was a good lesson. When you do stop opponents early, you can get complacent, but respect to Jennings, he is a great fighter. I want Manuel Charr next."

Adam Booth, Joyce's trainer added: "As the fight went on, Joe made himself smaller, and I'm pleased with what he showed in that fight. There's a reason why you gradually step up in class, and Joe will have learnt a lot from those twelve rounds."