The night finally arrived, as Daniel Dubois took on Filip Hrgovic in the Matchroom-Queensberry 5 vs. 5 boxing event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dubois had already spared Hrgovic in the past, which ended with Dubois taking a trip to the hospital. So, he had a point to prove, and boy did he prove by defeating Hrgovic via stoppage win! Yet the opening round saw the Londoner taking several shots to the head. But that won’t last long! 

Though Dubois managed to land a few of his own, the round seemed like it belonged to the Croatian boxer. As round two began, the same story continued as both fighters threw bombs at each other, but akin to the first, Dubois was on the receiving end of most shots. The Englishman pushed his opponent to the ropes by the end of the second, and the third began with a slightly tired Hrgovic missing his shots, setting a path for his best career wins.

Daniel Dubois makes a loud comeback

Suddenly, Dubois was back in the game, but a stiff right hand from Hrgovic gave the Croatian his momentum back. Three rounds of the second last fight of the night were done and dusted with zero points for Matchroom on the scoreboard. Come forth—the Englishman used his jabs to poke his opponent, but Hrgovic’s right hand caused a few issues for Dubois. 

At this point, Hrgovic was bleeding from above his right eye, as visibility became a problem for ‘El Animal’, but the rest of the round remained rather uneventful. In the fifth, Chrix Manix’s scorecard had the boxers head to head, as Hrgovic looked even more tired, exchanging shot for shot and bleeding even more from the cut above his eye. 

As round 6 arrived, things kept looking bad for the Croatian as his legs began to give, and Dubois maintained pressure, hiding behind his jabs. Despite several attempts at countering Dubois, Hrgovic mostly failed to do much, as a fresh cut seemed to have opened up above his other eye. Regardless, the fight progressed and Dubois landed a colossal right hand, which brought the arena to its feet. 

With barely any energy left, Hrgovic was saved by the bell in the seventh round as Dubois relentlessly attacked the 31-year-old. Covered in blood, Hrgovic kept taking punishment in the eighth round, as a doctor was called to take a look at Hrgovic’s cuts. And that was it—the fight was stopped right then, giving Frank Warren the ultimate lead on the scorecard and Dubois the title of the interim IBF heavyweight champion. 

Seeing such an incredible performance from the Londoner, the boxing world came together to celebrate Dubois’ win on social media. 

Boxing’s who and who on social media

It was one of the biggest events in Saudi, marketed extensively, so it didn’t take long for people to share their thoughts about the fight. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani quickly reacted to the win, celebrating Dubois’ breakthrough win. “I’m just so proud of myself for this. I was rock bottom last year, but now I’m on top,” Dubois admitted and Helwani agrees. 

Even former professional boxer Sergio Mora revealed his thoughts on the fight, claiming Hrgovic should have gone for the body. 

Former world champion Tony Bellew praised Dubois’ chin, which survived each and every punch from his Croatian opposition. 

Oscar nominee congratulated Dubois while expressing her agreement to the decision to stop the fight by the ringside doctor. 

Adam Catterall, founder of Fight Disciples, praised Dubois’ utter domination over Hrgovic. “Went swimming, got wet, drowned his opponent,” Catterall concluded. 

With all the praise, it’s safe to say Dubois seems to have earned everyone’s respect, especially after his fight against Oleksandr Usyk, where many believed Dubois had quit. What did you think about the fight?