WBA "regular" heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois is going to be on the shelf for several months after suffering a leg injury during his most recent fight.

Back on December 3 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as part of the undercard to Tyson Fury's defense against Derek Chisora, Dubois avoided disaster by stopping Kevin Lerena in the third round.

During the first round, Dubois was clipped to the top on his head and seemed to go down after his legs buckled.

He would go down two more times, voluntarily, after being unable to put weight on his leg. Between rounds, Dubois would indicate to his corner that his leg was injured. 

Dubois would eventually catch Lerena with a big shot in the third, dropping the South African boxer to the mat. He then pounded Lerena with punches to force the stoppage.

The WBA recently ordered their 'super' champion, Oleksandr Usyk, to make a mandatory defense against Dubois. 

Shane McGuigan, who heads Dubois' corner, would later explain that his fighter likely tore his ACL.

McGuigan's father, former world champion Barry McGuigan, confirmed the injury.

“Well, it’s interesting. Dan has a tear on his ACL, and as soon as we got the news that he had a tear on his ACL, suddenly he was offered the fight [with Usyk] – which he can’t have, he can’t box for six months now anyway because of the repair time," Barry McGuigan told Pro Boxing Fans.

“He got hit on top of the head the last time, and when he stepped back he tore his ACL and his balance was very badly affected. He had to come back from adversity and he showed that he could do that. He kept his cool. Shane’s advice in the corner was great, kept him nice and relaxed, used his boxing skills, and walked Kevin Lerena onto that right hand and the finish was spectacular.

“I don’t think it’s fair to make him fight when he’s unwell, so he’ll need a leave of absence as it were, but he’s ready to fight the top guys,” Barry continued. “I’d rather he fought someone like [Anthony] Joshua or Tyson Fury rather than Usyk, cause Usyk is a bag of tricks and he’s a southpaw, but I’ve no fear of him fighting any of these guys.”