Daniel Dubois lost his IBF heavyweight title to Oleksandr Usyk on July 19 but has seemingly lost more than just a boxing match as widespread reports indicate his involvement in a party during the afternoon of the fight. In a shocking turn of events, Dubois appears to have been railroaded by his own father who spontaneously threw a pre-fight party on his behalf, though whether this led to his loss against Usyk is doubtful.
When it comes to Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KO’s), Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KO’s) has been unfortunate to claim victories with a controversial edge against the same fighter; with the first fight between the two still stained by the controversial low blow that led to the recent July 19th rematch.
July 19th itself will be known as the day Usyk became a three-time undisputed champion [once at cruiserweight, twice at heavyweight] in the four-belt era ― a historic achievement that is threatening to be overshadowed by the latest reports of Dubois’ partying antics.
Framed as being set up for a loss by father Stan Dubois, Daniel Dubois attended a party the afternoon of the fight according to talkSPORT host Simon Jordan, which could have contributed to his loss to Usyk on the same day.
“There was a party at Daniel Dubois’ house, ordered by his father [Stan Dubois] with about 70 people at the house, the afternoon of the fight,” Jordan revealed to Lawrence Okolie and Joseph Parker who were in attendance.
“And the people that were there were not known to Daniel to such a point that Daniel actually asked his father to go for a drive because he didn’t know anybody there. And then, beyond that, you’ll see footage of it. The entourage, this party that Daniel doesn’t seem to know anybody of, were all coming to the fight but they weren’t allowed in the arena.
“And so on the way in, they’re being asked by the security as the reasons why they’re coming. And Daniel is being stopped and told, I think his father told security, ‘Unless you let these guys in, he’s not fighting’.“
Footage captured through one of the attendees of the alleged party confirms the rumors of the party, but Dubois’ trainer, Don Charles, strictly defended the party as being a ‘gathering’ instead:
“Let’s replace the word ‘party’ with ‘gathering’,” Charles told Jordan when asked about what occurred.
“It was a gathering. Okay? That same gathering, we used for prep on fight day for the AJ [Anthony Joshua] fight. A lot was made of the ring walk when Dubois walked out in Wembley, 96.000 people. A lot was made of it and the energy, it was fired up.
“That gathering at the home, the same home, was taken to the dressing room. Some of Daniel’s friends and his father’s friends were in the dressing room for the AJ fight. That energy is what gave birth to the energy that everybody witnessed in the ring walk. And we were victorious on that occasion.“
In what appears to be a pseudo-metaphysical explanation of events, Don Charles clarified that the gathering prior Dubois’ fight against Usyk was similarly used prior to Dubois’ fight against Anthony Joshua on September 21st last year.
Having apparently no hand in this gathering that was held, Charles went on to explain that the gathering of 70 people within Dubois’ home was an attempt to further bolster the British fighter’s ‘energy’ in the lead-up to his undisputed bout against Usyk.
“The only logical sense that why there were more people is to increase the volume [of energy], because it’s the big [fight],” Charles explained.
“The AJ fight was big, [the Usyk fight] trumps it. I didn’t even think that was possible. If you try to understand, that’s what I do ― try to understand, it may appear madness to a lot of people but it’s the same method that got us the victory [against Joshua].
“Stan Dubois, with his extraordinary methods, would try and replicate it. That’s my take on it.“
Though it would be assumed Stan Dubois’ method backfired, if attuning to Don Charles’ logical understanding of the situation, the slew of events leading up to the fight likely had little to do with the performance of Daniel Dubois who showed no technical improvement in his fight against Usyk.
Lacking solid defensive fundamentals, an occurrence that has been arguably become a trademark in Dubois’ career and has led to several knockdowns during his career, Usyk fully exploited Dubois’ lack of defense which culminated in a 5th round stoppage win for the Ukrainian.
The more egregious notion that has gone widely unnoticed is the efforts put in for Daniel Dubois to put him in the proper mental state rather than the preparation needed to overcome Usyk’s varied and highly-efficient skillset ― an arguable must for every opponent that Usyk faces given the undisputed champion’s high ring IQ coupled with tactical brilliance that has culminated in him remaining undefeated throughout his career.
What is further evident is a distortion in Dubois’ camp where Don Charles, the British contender’s head trainer, seemed to have no say or control in the pre-fight preparation for his own fighter; highlighting a clear overreaching of roles by father Stan Dubois who was allegedly responsible for Dubois’ ‘gathering’.
