Daniel Dubois has already had to overcome a few setbacks on his way to the top. But the 26-year-old IBF champion is not one for giving up, instead he is striving for true ring greatness.
The bell sounds for the tenth round. Daniel Dubois’ eye has continued to swell since the middle of the fight. Only a small slit remains for him to see. His opponent is none other than the “Juggernaut”, the destroyer Joe Joyce. He is regarded as one of the hardest punchers of the current heavyweight era. Dubois hits another stiff jab to his damaged left eye. The round has barely begun before it’s over. He takes a knee and goes down for the count. November 28, 2020 marks the bitterest defeat in the young heavyweight hopeful’s career to date. The British, Commonwealth and European Championships were won that evening by his opponent, Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce.
Tough months begin for Daniel. Despite his first defeat in his 16th fight, he was by no means without a chance. He was leading on two scorecards at the time of the stoppage, which is why many spectators, boxing fans on the internet and even some experts deny that he has a fighter’s heart. The doctors’ examinations afterwards paint a coherent picture and show that the young boxing hopeful Dubois made a considered, understandable and, above all, career-prolonging decision. A retinal hemorrhage and – worse still – a double fractured eye socket are in the findings. The probability that the then 22-year-old could have suffered severe visual impairment for the rest of his life is anything but insignificant.
Boxing enthusiast family
During the difficult time after his first defeat as a professional, the powerful left-hander can rely on one thing: the solidarity and support of his boxing-loving extended family. Daniel got into boxing through his father. Stan Dubois, also known as Dave, is a former street vendor who made a fortune in the millions selling African art on marketplaces in the UK and the USA. He fathered eleven children with two wives and, at the height of his success, decided to say goodbye to the hawking business. Dave then raised his eleven offspring mostly on his own. The imposing head of the family is convinced that all his children have received a gift and that the blood of a very special fighter flows through their veins.
Sylvia Dubois was an African-American slave who secured her freedom through bare-knuckle fights in the 18th century. Based on this familial, almost spiritual connection to boxing, the successful businessman decides to have his sons and daughters trained as athletes. In addition to Daniel, his younger siblings Prince, Solomon and Caroline are also promising and talented boxers. At the age of 23, Caroline already holds the belts of IBO World Champion and WBC Interim Lightweight Champion and is unbeaten in ten fights. Under the scrutinizing gaze of their father, the children motivate each other and spend every spare minute training on their own property in Greenwich (London). The young Daniel knows how to inspire early on with his incredible stamina and tenacity. He manages to do push-ups on his fists for a full three hours at a stretch. He wears the scars that have adorned the backs of his strong hands with pride ever since.
School as a distraction for Dubois
Although Daniel grew up in a problem area of London, unlike other young people from his neighborhood, he didn’t get into trouble with the law. “I didn’t see much of the streets. My father put me in the boxing ring when I was eight,” says the almost two-meter tall giant about his youth. Since then, the talented fighter from the south of London has only had one thing on his mind: boxing. “I didn’t really like school. For me, school was just a distraction from my boxing training,” admits Daniel. He focused unconditionally on his dream of becoming a professional and then a world champion – and it bore fruit.
In the amateurs, he became junior champion five times and British champion once, even making it into the national squad. At the age of just 17, Daniel boxed against older, highly respected amateurs such as Frazer Clarke and Joe Joyce, but also against seasoned professionals such as Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua. He not only proves himself in these sparring matches, but also makes his own mark. Rumors quickly spread that he had sent Joshua to the floor in training. As a result, top promoter Frank Warren became aware of the then 19-year-old and signed him to Queensberry Promotions.
“I love beating people up”
As a professional, “Dangerous” Daniel Dubois quickly made a name for himself, defeating all of his opponents early and in short rounds. His long-time trainer Martin Bowers, who not only stood in Dubois’ corner during his time as an amateur, but also in his early years as a professional boxer, says of his polite, reserved protégé: “When he enters the ring on fight day, he becomes a different person. He fights anyone who gets in front of his fists. And he doesn’t care who is in the other corner. If his grandma was in the other corner, he’d attack her.” Still waters run deep, as we all know. “When I’m in the ring, it’s to hurt my opponent. I love beating people up,” confesses the man with a 95 percent knockout rate. Dubois is currently ranked fifth in BoxRec‘s independent heavyweight rankings.
After a good six months of regeneration, “Dynamite” returns after the duel against Joyce and shows impressively that neither the loss of his perfect fighting record nor the injury to his eye have softened him in any way. In his usual manner, Daniel lets his explosive fists do the talking, winning early against solid opponents such as Bogdan Dinu and Joe Cusumano. In June 2022, the model athlete will then face the first world championship fight of his professional career. The Londoner finishes off the holder of the “regular” (and negligible) WBA title Trevor Bryan from the USA within four rounds. He knocks out the protégé of veteran promoter Don King with a perfectly timed left hook.
Impressive comebacks
In his subsequent title defense against Kevin Lerena, Dubois is knocked down three times in round one and is on the verge of defeat. But he shows even the loudest critics his fighter’s heart and defeats his opponent from South Africa in round three by technical knockout. 2023 sees his duel against Oleksandr Usyk, currently the best heavyweight boxer on the planet. “Boxing is my vocation, so I’m not afraid of hurting myself,” says Dubois. He always goes into his fights with this mantra – and yet, after a spirited performance, a jab is once again his undoing. In the ninth round, Usyk hits his exhausted rival. As against Joyce, the man from Greenwich takes a knee and lets himself be counted out.
Once again, “Dynamite” is on the path to redemption and has bounced back impressively since the Usyk defeat in 2023. Dubois stopped both the previously unbeaten American Jarrell Miller in the tenth and the highly rated Filip Hrgovic in the eighth by T.K.O. For his victory over the Croatian, the 26-year-old was subsequently upgraded from interim to full world champion by the IBF after Usyk, the actual number one in the limit, was unable to keep his title defense dates. Once again, the Briton holds a title whose value he must determine himself through performance. When the bell sounds for the first round at Wembley Stadium in London on September 21, Daniel Dubois will have the chance to do just that. What’s more, he can finally dispel the rumors that have accompanied him since the start of his professional career and knock out former champion Anthony Joshua. That would be an important step towards true greatness and a legacy in the heavyweight division.
Text by Julius Stoll