Heavyweight contender Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois 20-2 (19) answered his critics with a 10th round knockout victory over Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller 26-1-1 (22) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

The 26-year-old Brit has been much maligned for his performances in his two losses, with his critics claiming he quit in fights he could have continued in.

Against American Miller, 35, Dubois showed a steely resolve that many thought he was missing, hanging tough through the mid-rounds of the bout to stop his opponent late.

Dubios felt like he had turned a corner with the win.

“It really mattered tonight and I had to dig deep,” said Dubois. “It was a great fight and I showed my heart.

“I’m just glad I came through it. I had my dad screaming in my corner and I knew I had to get out there and work.

“I had to prove it and show it to myself, really, that I was a real fighter – that I can be a champion. I silenced all the doubters tonight. I had to finish strong and I always look for the knockout.

“I want to fight the best. After this fight I will excel. The confidence that might have been missing before, I regained it tonight. I showed that I can take punishment and dish it out.”

Promoter Frank Warren was as chuffed as anyone with the result.

“He is back at the big table, so now we will be looking for some big fights for him next year,” the Queensberry Promotions boss said.

“He can have a nice break over Christmas because remember he has gone into back to back training camps for significant fights – the last one was the world title [against unified champion Oleksandr Usyk]. This one was like redemption.

“Sometimes when he is fighting he looks back for his father’s voice. So I grabbed him and got him up in the corner. I know you were listening to him.

“It spurred you on even more because if you ain’t going to do it for your dad, then you ain’t going to do it for anyone, are you?”

Even Miller paid his respects to Dubois after the loss.

“Daniel is no quitter. I’ve been inactive for a while and I took this fight at four weeks’ notice,” Miller said. “I said I was going to give it all I’ve got but the main thing was to be back in the ring.

“Triple D has got my respect. You came in here and you banged out.”

In an interview with talkSPORT, Warren said he would be willing to match Dubois with anyone ranked in the top 10.

“For me, he could fight any of those guys in the top 10. Even AJ would be a good fight. I’d watch that all day long. I thought Daniel Dubois was brilliant,” Warren said.

“Absolutely magnificent. He proved to all his doubters that he does have heart in a tough, tough fight against a guy who is very good with his gamesmanship, was a tough, tough competitor and made him fight all the way.

“He needed a confidence booster. That fight with Usyk, he gave Usyk his toughest fight. He hurt him to the body and, for me, that was a legitimate punch and the referee giving him more than four minutes to recover was ridiculous.

“That fight is gone and he got a lot of stick afterwards about his desire and whether he really wants to be at the top level. Well he showed that he does because that was a tough fight. He had to dig deep. He had to grit his teeth and he did all those things.”