What a performance.

Rising British heavyweight Daniel Dubois scored an emphatic fifth-round knockout of countryman Nathan Gorman to claim the vacant British championship at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday. The official time was 2:41.

Dubois, one of the most exciting prospects in world boxing, was quick out of the blocks and cut his man with a right hand in Round 2. Despite the corner having time to stop the flow of blood, Gorman appeared distracted by the wound and was overwhelmed and dropped by a powerful barrage early in the third. He fought back gamely, but the warning signs were huge.

Coming in, Dubois (12-0, 11 knockouts) was considered the heavier hitter and those who favored Gorman leaned towards his cuter skillset. That’s not how this fight played out. The Dubois game plan of releasing huge powers shots from the outside was keeping Gorman honest and the Cheshire man struggled to find any significant success.

In the fifth Gorman was backed into the ropes, blinded by a double jab and floored by a concussive right-hand shot to the side of the head. Hurt and badly disorientated, he tried to beat the count, but referee Victor Loughlin waved the fight over a fraction before he found his feet.

“Every fight is a learning fight and there’s still a lot to learn,” said a humble Dubois in his post-fight interview with BT Sport in the U.K. “I was very confident in my power and it worked tonight. I’m pleased and it’s all down to the hard work and hard sparring.”

Big things are expected from the London-born Dubois who is still only 21 years old. This was an excellent showing against a talented operator and the future looks very bright.

Gorman, who is trained by two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton, is only 23 himself and obviously has plenty of time to regroup. He just couldn’t get going tonight and was unable to handle the ferocious power-punching coming his way.

Tom Gray is Associate Editor for Ring Magazine. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

SUBSCRIBE NOW (CLICK HERE - JUST $1.99 PER MONTH) TO READ THE LATEST ISSUE