Daniel Dubois vs Razvan Cojanu Preview Mar. 8th
Unbeaten British heavyweight hopeful Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois steps back into the ring this Friday, March 8th at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England when he meets Razvan Cojanu of Romania. The 12 round bout can be seen live in the U.S. on ESPN+ and on BT Sport in the UK. Dubois last fought in October when he beat American veteran Kevin Johnson by a 10-round unanimous decision. Cojanu’s most recent outing came in July when he was stopped in the second round by Luis Ortiz. Dubois had stopped Tom Little in the fifth round to claim the vacant British Heavyweight Title four months earlier. This fight was originally scheduled for last December, but Dubois pulled out because of the flu.
Dubois vs Cojanu Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Razvan Cojanu +2000
- Daniel Dubois -8000
My Pick
Dubois is a 21-year-old native of London with a perfect mark of 9-0 and he’s more or less being groomed as the next Anthony Joshua. In fact, he reportedly dropped the world champion a couple of years ago during a sparring session. The comparisons are easy to see as Dubois stands 6-feet-5-inches tall with a 78-inch reach and has stopped eight of his nine opponents up to now for an 89 per cent knockout ratio. He enjoyed a fine amateur career, losing just six of 75 bouts and winning gold medals at various tournaments. He didn’t fight in the Olympics though as he decided to turn pro instead.
Dubois has been brought along slowly since turning pro in April of last year. He has just 27 rounds of experience under his belt due to knocking most of his foes out. His opponents thus far before meeting Johnson have been Marcus Kelly (TKO-1), Blaise Mendouo (TKO-2), David Howe (KO-1), Mauricio Barragan (KO-2), AJ Carter (TKO-1), Dorian Darch (TKO-2), DL Jones (TKO-3) and Tom Little (TKO-5). This will be Dubois’ first second against a recognizable opponent with decent pro experience and Cojanu, like Johnson, is seen as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.
Dubois usually tips the scales between 230 and 240 lbs and like his fellow countryman Joshua, his career has been based on his power. He can cause damage with either hand, but isn’t really the most mobile heavyweight in the ring. He has decent hand speed though and is determined to make a name for himself in the division. It’s hard to say how good his chin is at this point since it hasn’t been tested and it likely won’t be against Cojanu on Friday either.
Cojanu will celebrate his 32nd birthday two days after the fight and stands just over 6-feet-7-inches tall with an 81-inch reach. This gives him a two-inch height edge over Dubois along with a three-inch reach advantage. Cojanu now fights out of the U.S. and has 82 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2011. He possesses average power with a current knockout ratio of 45 per cent. Most boxing fans may know Cojanu from his fight against Ortiz last year or his unanimous decision loss to Joseph Parker in a shot at the WBO Heavyweight title in May, 2017.
Cojanu enters the bout with a record of 16-4 along with nine Kos. fans probably won’t recognize many of his other opponents though, perhaps other than Grover Young, Ed Fountain and Manuel Alberto Pucheta. His first loss came against Alvaro Morales via a four-round majority decision in his pro debut and his second defeat was to Donovan Dennis by second-round stoppage in April of 2015. He’s a big guy who didn’t really look too impressive against Parker and Ortiz and has more or less been chosen for this fight to allow Dubois to gain experience against a recognizable name.
Prediction…
This will be Dubois’ second straight test against an experienced boxer and he’s expected to stop him. If he doesn’t there’s going to be questions about his alleged power. Look for Dubois to hunt for a knockout. Even if he doesn’t get it though he should still leave the ring as the winner.
Dubois’ power should eventually be the difference.
Play: Dubois -8000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Daniel Dubois betting • Razvan Cojanu betting