There has long been a sense with Daniel Dubois that we are watching him grow up in public, not only as a boxer but as a man. It should therefore come as no surprise when he experiences highs and lows and, in turn, comebacks and moments when we are stunned by the rate of his development.
He is, after all, always in development. He is learning to fight, he is learning how to wear a suit, and he is learning how to conduct himself at press conferences and in interviews. It is, for Daniel Dubois, all a learning process, this boxing lark, and of this we see evidence every time he sets foot in a ring or on a dais before the world’s media. Sometimes he expresses himself fluently – more so with his fists than his mouth, granted – whereas on other occasions he freezes up, runs out of ideas, and we are reminded that some mature and develop quicker than others.
In a strictly boxing sense Dubois, now 27, has truly come of age in 2024; so much so that the act of him confronting Oleksandr Usyk on December 21, just moments after Usyk had beaten Tyson Fury, wasn’t considered half as egregious as it would have been 12 months ago. Last year, in fact, when Dubois was stopped in nine rounds by Usyk, the thought of the Londoner ever again goading the Ukrainian, let alone sharing a ring with him, would have been inconceivable. Yet now, having had as good a 2024 as anyone, Dubois suddenly finds himself in a position to rematch Usyk with an IBF heavyweight belt to his name.
On reflection, the journey back all started with Dubois beating Filip Hrgovic in June. That represented the first real test for Dubois since losing to Usyk and in round one, a round he lost, we saw the extent of what Dubois was up against. Time and time again he found himself nailed by Hrgovic right hands and it seemed only a matter of time before one of them would unravel Dubois and send him back to Britain with his world title ambitions well and truly dashed.
Dubois, of course, had other ideas. He knew that the key to beating Hrgovic was to make him dispirited and outlast him and therefore he maintained belief despite the early rounds going the way of the Croatian. Soon, as expected, Dubois settled and grabbed a foothold in the fight. Then, in round eight, the damage to Hrgovic’s face was deemed too severe for him to continue. Cuts, two above the eyes, would go down as the official reason for Hrgovic’s first professional loss, but most who watched the fight understood how (a) the cuts had come about and (b) what was likely to happen in the final third of the fight.
With Hrgovic now out the way, and an IBF interim title around his waist, Dubois then went in search of a big-money fight. This led him to Anthony Joshua, his countryman, whom he boxed for the full IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on September 21. Before a crowd of anything between 80,000 and 90,000 people, Dubois was again the underdog and the perceived fall guy. His role, in the eyes of most, was to simply contribute to Joshua’s rebuilding process – which included a vicious knockout of Francis Ngannou in his previous fight – and edge the more popular Brit a step closer to the elite of the division.
Dubois, however, had plans of his own and this became clear as soon as the fight started. Wasting no time, he aggressively attacked and rocked Joshua from the off and whenever he landed anything of significance it appeared to have a lasting impact on his vulnerable opponent. In the opening four rounds, he managed to floor Joshua three times, and then in the fifth, the first round in which Joshua showed signs of life, Dubois ended matters with one of the most dramatic one-punch knockouts of the year.
That did it for Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs). It won him the fight and it ensured 2024 will be remembered as his year. He has, during it, scored one of the Knockouts of the Year in one of the Upsets of the Year and has also won two fights in which he started as underdog. That, at a time when boxers do all they can to stack the odds in their favour, is a remarkable achievement made only more remarkable when you consider where Dubois was in his development this time last year.
He is, in this respect, a great example to other fighters; proof that things can turn around quickly in boxing if you have enough humility to focus on your flaws and accept you are always learning. He is also a great lesson for us all as we prepare to enter a new year and hope it will be better than the last.
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