‘The Dream’ vs ‘Dynamite’
Trevor Bryan (22-0, 15KO) vs Daniel Dubois (17-1, 16KO) could possibly be the most obscure heavyweight world title fight of recent times, with the reasoning that all eyes are on Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua right now as the true heavyweight world champions. Fury is WBC and Ring Magazine king, and Usyk defends his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world titles to former holder AJ in the summer, which leaves fight fans thinking there’s no other world titles left out there.
While Usyk may have the WBA ‘Super’ belt, Bryan holds the WBA ‘Regular’ version. It’s one of the reasons why the World Boxing Association has lost respect during recent times. Despite being the oldest governing body in boxing, founded in 1921, their insistence on having two, even three world champions has fallen foul with fans. They currently have a ‘Regular’, ‘Super’ and even an ‘Interim’ world champion in the heavyweight division right now, which is just way too much.
Interestingly, it’s actually British boxing legend Lennox Lewis’s fault that there’s a ‘Super’ title. In 2000, Lewis was forced to relinquish his WBA heavyweight strap prior his defence to Michael Grant, so he suggested bestowing him with a ‘Super’ title to avoid losing his undisputed status over mandatory obligations to other opponents.
However, since then the organisation has been required by the ABC (American Boxing Commission) to reduce their many excessive titles, which is a goal they continue to strive (slowly) towards.
The Champion – Trevor Bryan
Trained by Stacey McKinley, who has trained the likes of Mike Tyson, Tony Tucker, Ray Mercer and Shannon Briggs to name just a few, he is also naturally promoted by Don King, as this pairing have worked together since the 90s.
The current WBA ‘Regular’ World heavyweight champion has a decent amateur pedigree behind him, taking part in National Golden Gloves tournaments back in 2010 and 2011.
He is presently unbeaten in 22 bouts as a pro, winning the WBA Fedebol title in his 13th contest, then the NABF strap in his 16th bout. He reached 20-0 with a fourth-round stoppage over BJ Flores to scoop up the WBA interim title; to then go on and win the full title in his next fight, stopping former world champion Bermane Stiverne; then defended the belt exactly a year later to unbeaten Jonathan Guidry via a split decision. In all three of his world title contests, he scored knockdowns.
However, his path to becoming a word champion has not been completely credible. BJ Flores was a blown-up cruiserweight, and Bermane Stiverne was one of heavyweight’s poorest ever world champions and long gone by the time they fought at the age of 42, but still went 11 rounds with him. Joe Joyce knocked ‘B.WARE’ out in six, and we all remember Wilder’s destructive first-round KO before that.
The Challenger – Dubois
Even before he turned pro, Dubois was a big name. The stories of a young amateur flooring Anthony Joshua in sparring circulated and created a big buzz. Guided by Peacock Gym's Martin Bowers, Dubois won 69 from 75 amateur bouts, and chose to sign with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren. Upon signing, he coined the moniker "Every Belt", which is something he has so far acheived, collecting 10 titles within 18 pro bouts.
Now trained by Shane McGuigan, Dubois has just the single loss on his record to domestic rival Joe Joyce. The fight was very even, but Joyce’s superior game plan, accurate punches and higher output managed to cause so much damage to the Greenwich puncher’s left eye that he was forced to take a knee in the 10th round.
That defeat will have done him the world of good. He changed his setup and has come back stronger with quick knockouts against Bogdan Dinu (KO2) and Joe Cusamano (TKO1).
Most of his opponents have been cannon fodder, despite their winning records. He was provided with the tough test that is Kevin Johnson in just his ninth fight, which was his only bout to go the distance. One of his best wins to date was the big British title clash with Nathan Gorman, who many saw the bout as 50-50. But what followed was three ridiculously outmatched opponents; their impressive records – combined to 58-2 – fooling absolutely no one. It took him just 10minutes of ringtime to defeat all three foes. So when he met the 'Juggernaut' in his 16th fight, he had not had adequate opponents to prepare him for that kind of challenge. Hopefully, that humbling, the subsequent changes in camp, and two comeback wins will have qualified him for this world title shot and biggest fight of his career.
Styles and Strengths
Bryan is clearly heavy-handed with 15 KOs from 22 victories, but not as powerful as Dubois who has knocked out all but one of his victims.
Sparring partners have described Bryan has being solid and durable, so he may be a difficult man to beat.
He is definitely limited, he looks slow and cumbersome and easy to hit, so Daniel Dubois should have no problem landed his ramrod jab.
The Brit is as powerful as they come and doesn't mind fighting fire with fire. When he lands, it's a problem for his opponents and he's a good finisher.
Betting Odds
The champion is the huge underdog at 6/1 with Betway, while challenger Dubois is placed as favourite to win on away soil at 1/12, with the odds for a draw set at 22/1.
Prediction
Trevor Bryan is getting knocked out badly in a matter of minutes!
I could be diplomatic and try to state a case for both boxers, and I could end up looking silly here after the contest if I’m completely wrong about this, but Bryan is one of the worst world champions I have seen.
The fact that he possesses a title with the words ‘World Champion’ written on it is just farcical, in my view. But I don’t blame boxing; I blame the WBA, who are a joke of a governing body. The WBC is worth more than any other belt in boxing, that’s the one that matters most. So even though Usyk has a plethora of heavyweight titles – WBA ‘Super’, IBF, WBO, IBO – together those four are not as prestigious as the green and gold that Tyson Fury holds.
Back to this fight, I’m predicting Daniel Dubois to knock Trevor Bryan out in rounds one or two. This will be great for British boxing, if it happens, especially after gaining another world champion just last weekend in Joe Cordina. Having two Brits become world champions in two consecutive weekends will be fantastic. Another positive for boxing overall will be the removal on the WBA interim title should Dubois be elevated to WBA ‘Regular’.