Kevin Lerena's challenge ends in third-round defeat against Daniel Dubois

Daniel Dubois got up from three visits to the canvas to stop Kevin Lerena in the third round in London on Saturday night and retain his WBA regular heavyweight title. 

The South African had never been dropped in his career before, but Dubois put him with a short straight right in the third. 

Lerena beat the count, but Dubois, smelling blood, moved in and threw several combinations before landing three heavy blows to the head that forced referee Howard Foster to stop the bout on the bell signalling the end of the third round. 

And yet two rounds earlier Dubois was in trouble after hurting his right leg — his trainer later said he thought it was a knee ligament — and he went down three times in the first round. 

He appeared to have been caught by a Lerena left before hurting his leg. 

WBA rules state that three knockdowns in a round brings an automatic end to the fight, but it was not clear whether this regulation was in force on the night. 

Dubois started the second round tentatively, but once he found his rhythm it was clear that Lerena’s chance of pulling off an upset win was over. 

In the end, it was Dubois who delivered the big bombs to end the fight, and although some felt the referee was too hasty in stopping the bout, Lerena was taking serious shots.  

Dubois improved to 19 wins (18 KOs) and one loss, while Lerena dropped to 28-2 (24 KOs). 

In the main bout Tyson Fury defended his WBC title with a 10th round technical knockout victory over Derek Chisora.