Connect with us

Featured Articles

Trevor Bryan Looks Forward to Building His British Fan Base

Published

on

Trevor-Bryan-Looks-Forward-to-Building-His-British-Fan-Base

Trevor Bryan is undefeated and owns a share of the fractured WBA world heavyweight title. He’s also a relative unknown. Even hardcore fans are uncertain of what to make of him.

Bryan (22-0, 15 KOs) has a chance to become famous overnight, in a matter of speaking, if he can drub Daniel Dubois when they meet on June 11 at Casino Miami Jai-Alai in Miami, Florida. It will be Bryan’s first test against an opponent favored to beat him.

Dubois, a Londoner of West Indian descent, was a beast coming out of the amateur ranks. He won his first 15 pro fights, 14 by knockout. The cagy American veteran Kevin Johnson was the only man to go the distance with him and Dubois won all 10 rounds.

“What most judges agree upon,” said Jeff Powell, writing in September of 2020, “is that this obsessively dedicated south Londoner with the sledgehammer fists is a world champion in the making.” Powell, the dean of British boxing writers, praised Dubois for his “lethal punching power reinforced by a concrete chin,” but tempered his enthusiasm by noting that Dubois still lacked the experience that every young fighter needs. At this point, he had answered the bell for only 43 rounds.

Two months after Powell’s story appeared in the Daily Mirror, Dubois had his bubble burst by countryman Joe Joyce who fed him a steady diet of hard  jabs en route to a 10th-round stoppage.

Dubois quit after his left eye closed completely, compromising his vision. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with a fractured orbital bone. Since then, he has added two more wins to his ledger, fast knockouts over unheralded opponents, enhancing his record to 17-1 (16). Against Trevor Bryan, he will have youth on his side. At age 24, Dubois is the younger man by almost eight years.

Bryan, born and raised in Albany, New York, also has West Indian roots. His parents are from Jamaica; his father from St. Thomas and his mother from Montego Bay. His father is a janitor at an Albany hospital and also owns a Caribbean market.

Bryan played all sports as a boy but gravitated toward football where he was an all-league defensive lineman at Bishop Maginn High School. With his physique, he certainly wasn’t going to be a shortstop or a point guard or a cornerback.

“All my life I’ve heard people telling me I’m overweight,” says Bryan, “but I’m just a big boy.” He guesses that he already weighed about 230 pounds when he was 14 years old. But the weight never hurt his stamina.

Bryan, whose primary residence is now in the Fort Lauderdale area where he lives with his partner and their two young daughters, was discovered by Don King scout Tracey McKinley by accident. McKinley went to Bryan’s amateur boxing club in Schenectady, New York, to check out a somewhat more highly-touted heavyweight prospect, Kimbo Bethel. After watching Bethel and Bryan go through their paces, McKinley said, “I like the other guy better.”

A call to USA Boxing coach Al Mitchell, who ran a camp for elite amateurs at Northern Michigan University, confirmed McKinley’s instinct. Mitchell and Bryan had had a falling-out, but that did not cloud Mitchell’s judgment that Trevor Bryan was worth the gamble. McKinley signed him for Don King while taking on the roles of co-manager and head trainer. (For the record, Bryan’s amateur stablemate Kimbo Bethel, inactive since 2018, went on to compile a pro record of 11-2-1 with nine KOs.)

Since out-pointing capable journeyman Derric Rossy in 2015 at an outdoor show in Las Vegas on a typically sweltering August night, Bryan has fought only six times, missing all of 2019 and 2020. The reasons vary, but not the repercussion: out of sight, out of mind. “{Trevor Bryan} isn’t a household name,” said Daniel Dubois’s promoter Frank Warren in one of the great understatements of all time.

Bryan intends to change all that on June 11. “I am going to beat Dubois and take all of his fans with me,” he says. The match will air in the U.K. on BT Sport.

Bryan is brimming with confidence. “I call Daniel Dubois a gatekeeper frontrunner,” he says. “You all know what a frontrunner is, a guy looks great when the going is good and then folds up when he runs into adversity.”

If he beats Daniel Dubois, Bryan becomes the WBA’s mandatory opponent for Oleksandr Usyk pending Usyk’s rematch with Anthony Joshua. “I will fight the winner of that fight,” he says, “and I could care less who it is.”

Despite two losses, Anthony Joshua remains a superstar in Great Britain, the cradle of pugilism, where top-tier boxers are far more celebrated than in the U.S. If, perchance, a bout between Joshua and Trevor Bryan were to reach the negotiation stage, would Bryan be willing to fight Joshua in England?

“That’s where I would want the fight to be,” he says. “I need to build up my fan base in Britain.”

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Advertisement
Avila-Perspective-Chap-330-Matchroom-in-New-York-plus-the-latest-on-Canelo-Crawford
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 330: Matchroom in New York plus the Latest on Canelo-Crawford

Vito-Mielnicki-Whitewashes-Kamil-Gardzielik-Before-the-Home-Folks-in-Newark
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Vito Mielnicki Jr Whitewashes Kamil Gardzielik Before the Home Folks in Newark

Pacquiao-is-Back,-Fabio-in-England-and-More.jpg
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap 329: Pacquiao is Back, Fabio in England and More

Opetaia-and-Nakatani-Crush-Overmatched-Foes-Capping-Off-a-Wild-Boxing-Weekend
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Opetaia and Nakatani Crush Overmatched Foes, Capping Off a Wild Boxing Weekend

Catching-Up-with-Clay-Moyle-Who-Talks-About-His-Massive-Collection-of-Boxing-Books
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Catching Up with Clay Moyle Who Talks About His Massive Collection of Boxing Books

Fabio-Wardley-Comes-from-Behind-to-KO-Justis-Huni
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Fabio Wardley Comes from Behind to KO Justis Huni  

More-Medals-for-Hawaii's-Patricio-Family-at-USA-Boxing's-Summer-Festival
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

More Medals for Hawaii’s Patricio Family at the USA Boxing Summer Festival

The-Shafting-of-Blair-the-Flair-Cobbs-a-Familar-Thread-in-the-Cruelest-Sport
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

The Shafting of Blair “The Flair” Cobbs, a Familiar Thread in the Cruelest Sport

Richardson-Hitchins-Batters-and-Stops-George-Kambosos-at-Madison-Square-Garden
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Richardson Hitchins Batters and Stops George Kambosos at Madison Square Garden 

Callum-Walsh-Umar-Dzambekov-and-Cain-Sandoval-Remain-Unbeaten-at-Santa-Ynez
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Callum Walsh, Umar Dzambekov and Cain Sandoval Remain Unbeaten at Santa Ynez

A-Fight-Fan-and-Teremoana-Samson-Junior-Leon-Teremoana
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

A Fight Fan and Teremoana Samson Junior Leon Teremoana

Paro
Featured Articles1 week ago

Liam Paro Returns with a Flourish on Wednesday’s ‘No Limit’ Card in Queensland

Avila-Perspective-Chap-331-Callum-Walsh-Brian-Norman-Galal-Yafai-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 331: Callum Walsh, Brian Norman, Galal Yafai and More

Brian-Norman-Jr-Bombs-Out-Jin-Sasaki-with-a-Frightful-Left-Hook
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Brian Norman Jr Bombs Out Jin Sasaki with a Frightful Left Hook

Jake-Paul-Outpoints-Julio-Cesar-Chavez-Jr-plus-Other-Results-from-Anaheim
Featured Articles6 days ago

Jake Paul Outpoints Julio Cesar Chavez Jr plus Other Results from Anaheim

A-Closer-Look-at-Mario-Barrios-Poised-to-Wreck-the-Comeback-of-a-Legend
Featured Articles1 week ago

A Closer Look at Mario Barrios, Poised to Wreck the Comeback of a Legend

A-Boxing-Card-in-Alabama-Goes-Pfft-A-True-Tale-from-the-Underbelly-of-the-Sweet-Science
Featured Articles3 days ago

A Boxing Card in Alabama Goes Pfft: A True Tale from the Underbelly of The Sweet Science

Avila-Perspective-Chap-332-Jake-Paul-vs-Chavez-Jr-plus-Mbilli-Deontay-and-More
Featured Articles1 week ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 332: Jake Paul vs Chavez Jr., plus Mbilli, Deontay and More

Mbilli-Blasts-Out-Sulecki-in-Quebec-Wilder-TKOs-Herndon-in-Wichita
Featured Articles7 days ago

Mbilli Blasts Out Sulecki in Quebec; Wilder TKOs Herndon in Wichita

Holly-Holm-Joshua-Edwards-and-Rene-Alvarado-Sparkle-on-the-Paul-Chavez-Undercard
Featured Articles6 days ago

Holly Holm, Joshua Edwards, and Rene Alvarado Sparkle on the Paul-Chavez Undercard

When-Boxing-Was-Big-on-the-Fourth-of-July-A-TSS-Classic
Featured Articles1 day ago

When Boxing was Big on the Fourth of July: A TSS Classic

A-Boxing-Card-in-Alabama-Goes-Pfft-A-True-Tale-from-the-Underbelly-of-the-Sweet-Science
Featured Articles3 days ago

A Boxing Card in Alabama Goes Pfft: A True Tale from the Underbelly of The Sweet Science

Mexico's-Francisco-Rodriguez-Jr-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-June
Featured Articles4 days ago

Mexico’s Francisco Rodriguez Jr is the TSS Fighter of the Month for June

Jake-Paul-Outpoints-Julio-Cesar-Chavez-Jr-plus-Other-Results-from-Anaheim
Featured Articles6 days ago

Jake Paul Outpoints Julio Cesar Chavez Jr plus Other Results from Anaheim

Holly-Holm-Joshua-Edwards-and-Rene-Alvarado-Sparkle-on-the-Paul-Chavez-Undercard
Featured Articles6 days ago

Holly Holm, Joshua Edwards, and Rene Alvarado Sparkle on the Paul-Chavez Undercard

Mbilli-Blasts-Out-Sulecki-in-Quebec-Wilder-TKOs-Herndon-in-Wichita
Featured Articles7 days ago

Mbilli Blasts Out Sulecki in Quebec; Wilder TKOs Herndon in Wichita

Avila-Perspective-Chap-332-Jake-Paul-vs-Chavez-Jr-plus-Mbilli-Deontay-and-More
Featured Articles1 week ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 332: Jake Paul vs Chavez Jr., plus Mbilli, Deontay and More

A-Closer-Look-at-Mario-Barrios-Poised-to-Wreck-the-Comeback-of-a-Legend
Featured Articles1 week ago

A Closer Look at Mario Barrios, Poised to Wreck the Comeback of a Legend

Paro
Featured Articles1 week ago

Liam Paro Returns with a Flourish on Wednesday’s ‘No Limit’ Card in Queensland

More-Medals-for-Hawaii's-Patricio-Family-at-USA-Boxing's-Summer-Festival
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

More Medals for Hawaii’s Patricio Family at the USA Boxing Summer Festival

Callum-Walsh-Umar-Dzambekov-and-Cain-Sandoval-Remain-Unbeaten-at-Santa-Ynez
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Callum Walsh, Umar Dzambekov and Cain Sandoval Remain Unbeaten at Santa Ynez

Vito-Mielnicki-Whitewashes-Kamil-Gardzielik-Before-the-Home-Folks-in-Newark
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Vito Mielnicki Jr Whitewashes Kamil Gardzielik Before the Home Folks in Newark

Avila-Perspective-Chap-331-Callum-Walsh-Brian-Norman-Galal-Yafai-and-More
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 331: Callum Walsh, Brian Norman, Galal Yafai and More

Brian-Norman-Jr-Bombs-Out-Jin-Sasaki-with-a-Frightful-Left-Hook
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Brian Norman Jr Bombs Out Jin Sasaki with a Frightful Left Hook

A-Fight-Fan-and-Teremoana-Samson-Junior-Leon-Teremoana
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

A Fight Fan and Teremoana Samson Junior Leon Teremoana

Catching-Up-with-Clay-Moyle-Who-Talks-About-His-Massive-Collection-of-Boxing-Books
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Catching Up with Clay Moyle Who Talks About His Massive Collection of Boxing Books

Richardson-Hitchins-Batters-and-Stops-George-Kambosos-at-Madison-Square-Garden
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Richardson Hitchins Batters and Stops George Kambosos at Madison Square Garden 

Avila-Perspective-Chap-330-Matchroom-in-New-York-plus-the-latest-on-Canelo-Crawford
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 330: Matchroom in New York plus the Latest on Canelo-Crawford

The-Shafting-of-Blair-the-Flair-Cobbs-a-Familar-Thread-in-the-Cruelest-Sport
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

The Shafting of Blair “The Flair” Cobbs, a Familiar Thread in the Cruelest Sport

Opetaia-and-Nakatani-Crush-Overmatched-Foes-Capping-Off-a-Wild-Boxing-Weekend
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Opetaia and Nakatani Crush Overmatched Foes, Capping Off a Wild Boxing Weekend

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending