Daniel Dubois says that he wants to ‘destroy’ Kevin Lerena on Saturday night.
Dubois takes on this South African challenger at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the preceding fight to Tyson Fury vs. Derek Chisora.
The 25-year-old Englishman could be in line for a fight with Fury in the near future. The WBC champion is expected to take on unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, who possesses the IBF, WBA and WBO belts.
As the ‘regular’ WBA champion, Dubois would be in line for a potential mandatory fight with the winner of the undisputed bout, or to go into an eliminator if the belt becomes vacant.
“I suppose some people might think I have got here quite fast, but I was expecting to get here sooner,” Dubois said ahead of Saturday’s fight, reported BoxingScene.com.
“It’s been a while since I last fought and it’s good to get back in the ring. It’s going to be amazing, a good atmosphere with the world watching. It’s a hell of a night and I can’t wait to be part of it.
“It’s going to be mental, yeah, looking forward to it.”
Dubois has just one defeat on his CV, suffered at the tail end of 2020 when he had an orbital bone fractured by Joe Joyce, and he believes he has improved since that disappointment.
“Since the Joyce fight, I’ve improved a lot and now is my time to go out there and become a legitimate world champion,” he added. “Like everything in life, you have to be strong and come through all the tough moments.”
“There were lessons I had to learn, that’s all in the past now. I’m a man of the future.
“He’s a guy out looking for a rep,” he said of Lerena.
“I’ve got to stop that and destroy him. All I know is that on Saturday, I have a guy in my way, and I’ve got to destroy. I’m just focused on that. That’s all that is on my mind. This is what I’ve been training for the last few months.”