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Mike CoppingerESPN
Daniel Dubois and Kevin Lerena are in the process of finalising a deal for a heavyweight fight slated for Nov. 26 in the U.K., sources told ESPN, although a separate date in December is also being considered.
Dubois, 25, was lined up to fight 43-year-old Australian journeyman Lucas Browne until the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) refused to sanction it after it deemed Browne too old.
Now, Dubois (18-1, 17 KOs) is set to fight Lerena, a 30-year-old South African who is ESPN’s No. 6 cruiserweight.
Dubois was considered boxing’s best heavyweight prospect until he suffered a fractured left orbital in a 10th-round TKO loss to heavyweight contender Joe Joyce in a November 2020 step-up fight.
Dubois rebounded with three stoppage victories, most notably a fourth-round knock-out of heavyweight fringe contender Trevor Bryan in June, which is Dubois’ best victory to date.
Dubois still has hopes of winning a heavyweight title. The setback to Joyce looks better with each subsequent outing from “The Juggernaut,” who stopped former champion Joseph Parker last month.
Lerena (28-1, 14 KOs) has won all three fights at heavyweight since he moved up from cruiserweight in 2020. He scored a fourth-round KO of journeyman Bogdan Dinu in March (a fighter Dubois knocked out in Round Two a year earlier) followed by a decision win over Mariusz Wach last month.