Daniel Dubois did what he had to do on Saturday night and through no fault of his own won a completely one-sided and short-lived affair in London.
Picking up the vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title, the talented young contender is well on course to complete his mission of ‘every belt’.
But let’s talk about the man in the opposite corner. Ebenezer Tetteh – where do we start?
Well, Tetteh was 19-0 with 16-0 KO’s and billed as dangerman to the Dubois pursuit of the multi-colored strap.
Dubois vs Tetteh
What we witnessed on the way to and in the ring was far from it. Furthermore, I’m still not sure whether Tetteh should actually be classed as a professional boxer.
Tetteh was like a frightened child on his way to face Dubois and looked as if he’d found a pair of boxing shorts on the floor of an old gym.
The 31 year-old then forgot to put his gumshield in and seemed to walk back to the corner after the bell to ask his trainer what to do next.
That’s all before the action, if you can call it that, began in earnest.
Swinging like an amateur, it’s hard to see where Tetteh learned his craft. And within seconds it was apparent there was far too much of a gulf in class.
ICYMI ⚠️
Daniel Dubois got a first-round knockout to win the Commonwealth title last night…
DDD is a danger to the heavyweight division 😳 pic.twitter.com/an5ZEzpY2q
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) September 28, 2019
Luckily for Tetteh, Dubois got the job done quickly and referee Mark Lyson pulled the Ghanaian from a certain hellacious knockout.
I think it’s now time the authorities stepped in to make sure some boxers who make it to a Commonwealth title shot are screened for talent.
Primarily from the African countries, and that’s no slant on some of the major talent produced from the Continent over the years.
There have been some true greats like Azumah Nelson, Dick Tiger, Iker Quartey and John Mugabi.
Out of depth
In more recent years, Joshua Clottey, Samuel Peter, Sakio Bika, and Isaac Dogboe have flown the flag for several of those nations.
Tetteh is not the first who has traveled to the United Kingdom to be blasted out with a considerable lack of talent and he certainly won’t be the last.
But how long would it take for a fighter to be screened on videotape before being allowed to fight on a major TV show?
Fans no doubt felt irked at what transpired in the main event of a big domestic show at the famous Royal Albert Hall.
The CBC could have given Dubois a tougher and more experienced test for the vacant title, somebody at least proven above domestic level.
Bypassing certain ranked fighters would raise an argument of those countries not being able get the chance to fight for the Commonwealth title, although an easy remedy would be a rotation system when the belt does become vacant.
Pitting the best Nigerian or South African against the best Cameroonian or Ghanaian at that time would be far more beneficial than being fed to the likes of Dubois.
The guy is a beast and a nailed-on world title challenger of the future.
It would also give the lesser countries the chance to share the CBC crown for a while and keep out of the clutches of the more experienced nations.
Most UK fighters drop the belt after one fight anyway, so pasting an also-ran like Tetteh in 130 seconds holds more dangers than it prevents.
Just a thought.
OTHER RESULTS
Nicola Adams showed fragility at world level when lucky to get out of a first world title defense with a draw against the experienced Maria Salinas.
The Olympian was lucking to the World Boxing Organisation Flyweight Title she never won in the ring when looking highly unconvincing on the night.
At super featherweight, Archie Sharp continued his rise with a fourth round knockout of Declan Geraghty to move to 17-0.
Sharp is moving along nicely at domestic level.
