Kevin Lerena admits Anthony Joshua was right about his opponent Daniel Dubois' refusal to give up during a fight.
Dubois and Joshua are set to face off in the ring next month, and Lerena is of the opinion that this fight will be "very 50/50" between the pair. Speaking on the Seconds Out podcast, the South African boxer admitted that Dubois has a grit in him that could turn the fight on its head at any time.
Lerena and Dubois fought in late 2022 and the South African had his opponent knocked down in the ring three times – but the now-26-year-old got back up every time, eventually knocking Lerena down and winning the bout.
Back in 2020, Dubois was dealing with being called a 'quitter' after he chose to take a voluntary knee against Joe Joyce in their fight, as the now-38-year-old fractured his eye socket and caused nerve damage. The British boxer was forced to retire in the 10th round of the fight as his eye had swollen up so much that he couldn't see out of it – and Joshua stepped up to defend his fellow countryman from the jeers coming his way.
Speaking to The Sun, Joshua said: "If Daniel needs someone to speak to, he should call me. It is easy for people to criticise from outside the ring - but some people have been out of order. Daniel took a massive risk in taking that fight, as did Joe Joyce. They both knew the dangers and they both put it all on the line.
"I hear people talking respectfully about tapping out in MMA fights. Then when a boxer stops because his eyeball is about to fall out, they call him a 'quitter' – are they serious?
"Daniel's time will come. I believe I will fight both him and Joyce. Joyce is underrated. He had a top amateur pedigree and it shows. This is a great time for British heavyweight boxing – it has never been stronger – and those two guys are both a huge part of it."
Lerena was also in agreement with Joshua's words, as he admitted that Dubois was more than within his rights to keep himself safe. He said: "When you look back at his fight with Joe Joyce, I don't think you can call that quitting. I think he had a very serious injury, you know, the man's got to realise we're in there to make a living and to get back to our families, and if he felt the injury was limiting his performance then he did what he needed to do.
"At the end of the day, I say look where Joyce is now and look where Dubois is. Dubois has surpassed what Joyce has achieved and he's gone on to do a lot more. He's in mega fights so it just shows you to never give up. I don't think he's a quitter to be honest."
Discussing Dubois' chances with Joshua, the 32-year-old said: "Since he beat me, he's lost to Usyk. He's overcome adversity - in the fight with me he had to overcome adversity getting off the canvas and rallying back to beat me.
"He overcame adversity there, he fought Usyk in a fight that many thought he beat him with a body shot. Whether it was a body shot or not, who knows, but he overcame adversity again because he got stopped in that fight. He then came back, he beat Jarrell Miller, he smashed Jarrell Miller and he smashed Hrgović.
"And to be honest, I thought when he fought Hrgović, I genuinely thought Daniel Dubois will beat him, but I didn't think [he would beat him] like that. He showed a lot of grit and he's come into himself."
Dubois and Joshua will enter the ring on Saturday, September 21 at Wembley Stadium to fight for the IBF world heavyweight title – a prize that Joshua is eager to claim back after he lost his heavyweight accolades to Oleksandr Usyk.