Results from Europe: Dubois Blasts Out Dinu; Kabayel UD 12 Johnson

Daniel Dubois returned to the ring tonight in the city of Telford in the West Midlands region of England to meet Bogdan Dinu. It was Dubois’ first fight back since suffering his first pro loss at the hands of former sparring partner Joe Joyce in November of last year and his first fight with new trainer Shane McGuigan (pictured) in his corner.

Romania’s Dinu, a ponderous heavyweight, was the perfect foil for Dubois who had pulled himself out in the 10th round vs Joyce with a busted eye socket. Dinu had won two straight against obscure opponents, elevating his record to 20-2, but a better measure of his talent came when he stepped up in class against Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and was destroyed. Dinu came in ranked #4 by the WBA, but nothing that unscrupulous organization does will ever surprise us.

Dinu lasted into the second round before Dubois (16-1, 15 KOs) took him out with a blistering right hand, a one-punch knockout for the fighter once looked upon as the future of the heavyweight division. The official time was 0:31.

The undercard was rubbish.

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It’s been a good week for the Dubois family. Yesterday, Daniel’s 20-year-old sister Caroline, one of his 10 siblings, defeated veteran campaigner Mira Potkonen at a closed-door Olympic qualifying tournament in Paris. Potkonen won a bronze medal for Finland in the lightweight class at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Shane McGuigan has also worked with Caroline. She will punch her ticket to Tokyo if she gets past her next opponent, Italy’s Rebecca Nicoli.

Magdeburg, Germany

When they compile a list of boxing’s all-time-best heavyweight journeymen, Kevin Johnson’s name should be on it. Johnson doesn’t win much anymore, or win many rounds, for that matter, but knocking him out has proved near-impossible. The 41-year-old New Jersey native has gone the distance with the likes of Vitali Klitschko, Tyson Fury, Andy Ruiz, Daniel Dubois, and Filip Hrgovic and tonight he extended Agit Kabayel the full 12 rounds at an open-air arena on Kabayel’s turf in Magdeburg.

Johnson’s best round was the sixth when he appeared to stun Kabayel with a flurry of punches and he fought with gusto in the final stanza as if to show that there was still plenty of pep left in his old bones. But by then the outcome wasn’t in doubt. The undefeated Kabayel, whose European title wasn’t at stake, advanced to 21-0 (13) with a wide decision. The judges had it 119-110 and 118-111 twice.

The durable Johnson, who has been plying his trade on the European circuit, falls to 35-18-1.

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