Dubois stops Hrgovic in brutal battle to claim IBF interim title
Win sets up likely fall fight vs. Joshua; also on '5 vs. 5': Sheeraz TKOs Williams in 160 eliminator; Ball earns split decision against Ford for 126 belt; Hutchinson outpoints Richards in thriller
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Ten months ago heavyweight Daniel Dubois was dominated and knocked out in the ninth round in a mandatory bout against then-three-belt champion Oleksandr Usyk, who went on to topple Tyson Fury for the undisputed crown last month.
Dubois was heavily criticized for complaining about a body shot from Usyk that was legal and later quitting on one knee after getting dropped by a jab.
But two fights later he has restored himself. First, there was a 10th-round knockout of Jarrell Miller, from whom he took his unbeaten record in December in a grueling fight.
And then he gutted out a hard-fought vicious battle with the favored Filip Hrgovic, stopping him on cuts in the eighth round to win the vacant IBF interim title in the co-feature of the Deontay Wilder-Zhilei Zhang heavyweight fight on Saturday’s “5 vs. 5” card pitting fighters promoted by Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn against those on the roster of Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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