Trevor Bryan vs Daniel Dubois: Four reasons to watch the heavyweight bout on BT Sport

Daniel Dubois takes on Trevor Bryan for the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title on Saturday - and all the action from Miami is exclusively live on BT Sport.

Briton Dubois suffered the first loss of his professional career against Joe Joyce in 2020 but has stopped Bogdan Dinu and Joe Cusumano since and has a record of 17-1.

American Bryan is unbeaten with 15 knockouts to his name and has a notable win over former WBC champion Bermane Stiverne for the vacant ‘regular’ title in 2021.

He is promoted by the legendary Don King and last fought in January when he outpointed Jonathan Guidry.

The winner would put themselves in pole position for a shot at the WBA title and with only days to go until fight night, here are four reasons to watch Dubois take on Bryan.

Dynamite Dubois hits Miami

Dubois has promised a devastating victory over Bryan and the 24-year-old has a fearsome track record, with 16 of his 17 wins coming by knockout.

He has several highlight-reel KOs to his name and returns to America nine months after he wasted no time in stopping Cusumano on his US debut.

The bout was on the undercard of Jake Paul’s first fight against Tyron Woodley and the explosive victory was the perfect way to introduce himself to the American audience.

He has bounced back admirably from a galling defeat to domestic rival Joyce with two emphatic knockouts and five of his 17 wins have come inside the opening round.

Now topping the bill in Miami in front of an expected crowd of 6,500, Dubois will be targeting another definitive victory to put him on the brink of a world title shot.

“I want to go in there to put on a boxing display and make a statement,” he said.

“I have been training pretty much non-stop, I have been in the gym and the other guys have been having fights and I have just been working away, but now it is on and I can't wait to go out there and show what I am about.”

Can Dubois win big on American soil again and catapult himself into world title contention?

Can McGuigan take Dubois to new heights?

Dubois linked up with well-respected British trainer Shane McGuigan after the Joyce defeat and the pair have struck up a promising relationship.

McGuigan has previously guided George Groves and Josh Taylor to world titles and currently works with the likes of Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith.

They have had a prolonged period to work together ahead of the Bryan fight, with Dubois last out in August, and the link-up has all the makings of a successful partnership.

Widely regarded as one of the most promising young coaches in Britain, McGuigan has been working on Dubois’ technique to complement his prodigious power.

“We’ve been working more on his head movement, working on speeding him up,” he said. “He’s always had power, we’re just working on his technique.

“He’s got so much to learn, but he’s got all of the ability there. He’s got power, speed, everything. I always talk about him like he’s one of the top heavyweights in the world.”

“Lawrence Okolie says he’s the hardest puncher he's ever been in with. That’s AJ, Dillian Whyte included, all the big boys.”

Dubois, who has previously worked with Martin Bowers and Mark Tibbs, said: “what more could you want? As a young fighter coming up wanting to win a world title, this is a perfect team.”

Unbeaten Bryan labels Dubois a quitter

Joyce aside, Bryan arguably poses the greatest threat to Dubois so far in his professional career.

The 32-year-old American began boxing aged 11 and is a seasoned operator. His first professional bout was in 2011 and he in unbeaten in over a decade.

The majority of his opponents are unknown on these shores, but he does have notable wins over BJ Flores, who fought Tony Bellew in 2016, and former champion Stiverne.

He won the regular title in January 2021 and defended it a year later against Guidry, who is appearing on the undercard.

The New York native is in confident mood ahead of one of the most significant bouts of his career and has ramped up the war of words, describing his opponent as a quitter.

“Daniel Dubois is a strong fighter, he has fought some good guys, but I am on a different level,” he said.  

“You saw that when he came up against some good opposition, he quit, gave up. You don’t quit, you don’t give up. I would rather go out on my shield.

“I will be a nightmare for him and not the fight that he wants. Maybe he should have gone back and tried to reverse the loss he had against Joe Joyce before he came to the champion.”

Welcome to BT Sport Fight Club

It’s fight week on BT Sport, and we’ve got an unmissable triple-header coming your way.

First up, prospects Liam Davies and Marc Leach clash for the British super bantamweight title in Telford, with Ijaz Ahmed, Kaisy Khademi and more featuring on the card.

Later that evening, attention turns to Miami, Florida as Dubois meets Bryan for the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title.

The action keeps on coming with live coverage of UFC 275, headlined by Glover Teixeira’s first defence of his light-heavyweight belt against Jiri Prochazka.

The Brazilian made history last year when he submitted Jan Blachowicz to become the oldest first-time UFC champion. He meets Prochazka who dominated Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes to earn a title shot.

Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili are also in action on what promises to be a memorable night in Singapore.

Don’t miss any of the edge-of-your-seat action from around the world this weekend as BT Sport brings you a triple-title fight night.

Watch Bryan vs Dubois on BT Sport 1 on Saturday 11 June, with ring walks expected after 11pm.