Daniel Dubois vs Bogdan Dinu is a fascinating heavyweight showdown on June 5 which should answer a ton of tantalising questions.
The British heavyweight prospect Dubois, once seen as the future of boxing’s marquee weight class, must rebound from that shattering first professional defeat at the hands of Joe Joyce.
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Dinu meanwhile must prove at the age of 34 that he can elevate himself to a new level as he and Dubois battle for the WBA interim heavyweight title.
A world title shot is not too far away for the winner of this eagerly-awaited showdown, but will it be Dubois rekindling the excitement which accompanied the start of his career? Or will Dinu stick another massive fork into that reputation?
We will find out this weekend. Here’s all we know heading into fight night.
Dubois vs Dinu date, fight time and venue
Daniel Dubois vs Bogdan Dinu wil take place on Saturday June 5, 2021 at the Telford International Centre in Telford, Shropshire.
Ring walks for the main event are expected around 2300 BST (1800 ET/1500 PT) and around 1000 spectators will be in attendance as the UK continues to tiptoe out of COVID-19 restrictions.
Dubois vs Dinu TV channel and live stream
Dubois is promoted by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, which has a long-running UK broadcast deal with BT Sport.
Dubois vs Dinu will therefore be broadcast in the UK by BT Sport on its BT Sport 1 HD channel. If you’re in the United States, you can buy the show on FITE TV.
Dubois vs Dinu odds
Dubois is a massive favourite to get back to winning ways on Saturday night. He’s best priced at 1/18 and shortest at an incredible 1/41. Dinu meanwhile is anywhere from an 8/1 underdog to a 10/1 shot depending on where you look.
Dubois vs Dinu weights
The weigh-in for Dubois vs Dinu took place in Telford on Friday June 4.
Dubois tipped the scales at 240lbs (17st 2lbs) – some 4lbs lighter than for that defeat by Joyce last November. Dinu meanwhile weighed in 10lbs heavier than his opponent at 250lbs (17st 12lbs).
Daniel Dubois record and profile
Daniel Dubois was born on September 6, 1997 in London and is now 23 years of age. He has a professional record of 15-1 – 15 victories and just one defeat in a total of 16 fights in the paid ranks. Some 14 of those victories were inside distance.
‘Dynamite’ created a massive stir in domestic (and eventually globally) circles as he destroyed everybody in his path en route to a 15-0 start to his career. That epic run consisted mostly of very early nights, with only the durable American Kevin Johnson taking Daniel the distance back in 2018.
The excitement over Daniel’s potential was at fever pitch when he was thrown into a cracking all-British showdown with fellow unbeaten prospect Joe Joyce on November 28, 2020. The pair met at London’s historic Church House, with Dubois an odds-on favourite to prevail.
Joyce though clearly didn’t read the script and showed his incredible chin and ability to keep on coming forward as he dealt effectively with Daniel’s fearsome bombs.
Joe meanwhile started to cause real damage to the left eye of Dubois with a spearing jab that became the most important weapon in the whole fight. By Round 10 the eye was badly swollen and when another Joyce lead landed, Dubois felt something go. He took a knee which turned into a 10 count, and the fight was over. Joyce the winner by KO.
Some experts questioned Daniel’s heart in the immediate aftermath of the result, but within hours it was revealed that he had suffered a fractured eye socket. A serious injury which would take months to recover from.
Dubois has taken time to heal and worked himself back into peak condition for Dinu – and he believes this is effectively the start of a new career for him. He also has a new trainer in Shane McGuigan.
There is no doubt this young man has the raw physical tools to be an incredible threat at heavyweight. But will that Joyce defeat leave any scars – mental or physical? We’ll start to find out on Saturday June 5.
Bogdan Dinu record and profile
Bogdan Dinu was born in Romania on August 15, 1986 and is now 34 years of age. He has a professional record of 20-2 – 20 victories and two defeats. Some 16 of those victories have come inside distance.
After turning pro in 2008, Dinu reeled off a perfect 18-0 start to his career in the paid ranks. But the victims on that CV were hardly household names. As soon as he was elevated in level, the wheels started to come off with two consecutive defeats.
First Dinu was knocked out by American prospect Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller in their showdown in November 2018, and soon after that he suffered the same fate against tough Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in March 2019.
Since those defeats Dinu has gone back to fighting lesser-known names, and has notched a couple of stoppage victories.
Now though he heads back to a higher level, but is he good enough to cope? We know he’s tough and durable, but the jury is very much out on whether he has the ability to mix it at the top. He is ranked #3 by the WBA and this is a golden opportunity – Saturday June is his big chance.
Dubois vs Dinu undercard
- Unbeaten light-heavyweight prospect Tommy Fury (5-0), brother of Tyson, faces Hamilton’s unbeaten Jordan Grant (2-0).
- Belfast’s middleweight Caoimhin Agyarko (8-0, 5 KOs) will be aiming for his fifth successive inside the distance win when he boxes Mexican Ernesto Olvera (11-6-1, 3 KOs)
- Stoke-on-Trent’s hugely popular middleweight Nathan Heaney (11-0, 3 KOs) has his second fight under the Queensberry banner when he meets Bulgarian Iliyan Markov (6-14-2, 3 KOs).
- Unbeaten English bantamweight champion Liam Davies (8-0, 3 KOs) faces Bulgaria’s Stefan Slavchev (11-38-2, 4 KOs).
- Featherweight Adan Mohamed (1-0) boxes a four rounder against Luke Fash (2-59-2).
- Decorated 18-year-old amateur George Bance who makes his professional debut after signing with Queensberry.
