Daniel Dubois was knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk in their heavyweight clash at Wembley Stadium and will take some time out of boxing to recover before plotting his next move
Daniel Dubois has been told to take six months off and learn from Oleksandr Usyk’s mental resilience if he is to make it back to the top.
Promoter Frank Warren wants his man to take a long break after he was knocked out by the Ukrainian at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night. Dubois, 27, suffered his third career defeat – and his second against Usyk – as he surrendered the IBF heavyweight crown against the now three-time undisputed champion.
Warren said: “You’ve got to learn from defeats, I mean that’s what life’s about, isn’t it? You know, not everything goes your way, you got to come back, it’s the mark of a man if he can do it, and we’ll see if he could do it.
“He’s got to resurrect himself. That’s what we’ve had to do. That’s the story. Usyk a quality, quality fighter, he has a great boxing IQ, and he’s got the most unbelievable mental attitude.
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“That’s what makes him. That’s what Daniel’s got to learn from. Try and get and develop the mental attitude that Usyk has.”
Dubois was floored twice on the way to his third loss but was able to rise to his feet and walk back to his corner. The British heavyweight was checked over by medics but did not need to go to hospital and returned home on Saturday night.
Warren still wants his fighter to have a good break after a gruelling training camp to get ready for the Wembley Stadium clash. He said: “About six months easy.”
The Queensbury promoter also had some praise for Usyk. “We witnessed one of the true modern-day legends tonight in action,” he said. “Oleksandr Usyk for me is a heavyweight in any generation that would be an outstanding fighter.
“I take my hat off to him in how he coped, how he showed such mental resilience in someone’s back yard, he is something special. He is a special fighter. Daniel is obviously very disappointed, he is in the dressing room at the moment but he will come back.”
It was another triumphant night for Usyk, who claimed the 24th win of his glittering career. It was also his seventh consecutive triumph over British fighters, following wins over Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua and saw him reclaim the IBF title and complement his WBA, WBO, and WBC belts, becoming a two-time undisputed champion in the heavyweight division.
“I have to commend him on his performance,” Dubois said. “I gave everything I had, probably a few things I could have sharpened up on, but take no credit away from the man. I was just fighting, I was in a fight and trying to pick up round by round.
“It is what it is, but I’ll be back. I want to thank everyone for coming out. I gave my best, we’ll go back to the drawing board and come again.”
