Daniel Dubois is well placed at the top of the heavyweight division right now but one man thinks he has his number.
Dubois put in the performance of his career back in September 2024 against fellow Brit Anthony Joshua. The fight took place in front of a record crowd at Wembley Stadium and saw ‘DDD’ knock Joshua down at the end of the first round.
There was one more knockdown before the end came in the fifth round when Joshua found himself face down on the canvas from a short right hand and unable to beat the count.
That win was a defence of the IBF world title to which Dubois was elevated after his victory over Fillip Hrgovic in June 2024. The Brit’s stoppage of Hrgovic came just a few months on from handing tough American Jarrell Miller his first defeat in December 2023 out in Saudi Arabia.
Dubois’ current run makes him one of the most in form fighters in the division and next up is Joseph Parker. Former WBO champion Parker is also coming off two good wins over Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder so their fight on February 22 is an intriguing one.
Ahead of that and speaking to iFL TV while on a tirade about Joshua, top ranked heavyweight contender Martin Bakole has claimed he has twice stopped Dubois in sparring.
“I’m disappointed [Joshua] has been knocked out by someone I knocked out twice in the gym.”
Dubois’ team has denied Bakole’s sparring claims in the past, particularly that he broke the Brit’s nose ‘twice.’
Bakole is set to take on Efe Ajagba in his next fight, an IBF final eliminator for the mandatory spot. Should he win, Dubois will be ordered to defend the belt against him and all of these claims can finally be put to bed in the professional ring.
