Daniel Dubois won "a good few" fans over with his stunning display against Anthony Joshua on Saturday night, says Darren Barker.
Dubois successfully defended his IBF heavyweight title against Joshua, who was the clear favourite among the 96,000 in attendance to witness the fight at Wembley Stadium. Joshua has long been one of the faces of British boxing and has packed venues in the UK for over a decade, but Barker feels that the emphatic nature of Dubois' victory could see the champion rise to the top of the pecking order.
The bout was a one-sided affair as an aggressive Dubois kept Joshua on the back foot from the opening bell with a number of devastating punches, dropping "AJ" to the canvas on three separate occasions before finally ending the fight with a knockout blow in the fifth round.
With such a thorough victory over a beloved fighter, Barker says Dubois may have punched his ticket towards British superstardom.
"At the end of the day, it was two Brits in there," said Barker, who covered the fight for DAZN. "One is always going to be the fan favourite over the other.
"But the way Dubois dealt with the occasion, dealt with the atmosphere and dealt with Anthony Joshua, you can't help but give him props and plaudits. I think he will have won a lot of people over.
"He doesn't have the backstory Anthony Joshua has. He's an Olympic darling with a gold medal who flew the flag, whereas Dubois has flown under the radar somewhat.
"To put in a performance against a national treasure, you can't help but think it could be a changing of the guard."