Daniel Dubois has seen plenty of drama in what is still a relatively short career at the top level, not least in his losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Dubois is 27-years-old and has been fighting on big cards on TV for over half a decade. He has competed stateside, on pay-per-view, and has co-starred in three world title fights.
Early on he had an upset loss to Joe Joyce in which he took a knee and allowed himself to be counted out due to extreme damage to his eye from Joyce’s jab.
That brought about accusations from other fighters that he was a ‘quitter’ and they surfaced again after he was stopped by a jab from Usyk in their first fight in August 2023, although not before he had the Ukrainian down with what was ruled to be a low blow.
Dubois rebuilt with wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic to become IBF world champion, and then Anthony Joshua. All three performances silenced critics about his grit and heart.
However, last time out he was stopped inside five by Usyk. The young Brit managed to rise to his feet and walk back to his corner after the contest was waved off, seemingly clear headed. This has again led some to accuse him of quitting, including Carl Froch and Derek Chisora.
Another who holds that opinion is former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew, who has looked back on his own knockout loss to Usyk on X before suggesting that Dubois should walk away from the sport if his heart is not fully in it – which he deems to be the case.
“I did get up and was up off a heavier shot than that before the count of 8! Thankfully for me the ref stopped it, but as you and I both know, I’ll always need saving from myself. Nothing wrong in knowing when you’ve had enough, I just suggest you leave sport with that kinda attitude.”
