Fans were left shocked when the British heavyweight star turned up to his fight with Usyk just 90 minutes before he was set to make his walk to the ring
Stunning footage has emerged of the party which saw Daniel Dubois turn up late to his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night.
Many within the boxing community have blasted the gathering – which was reportedly put on Dubois’ father Stand – as a ‘disruptive’ interference with the heavyweight star’s day. ‘Triple D’ sparked fears after he pulled up to Wembley Stadium just after 8:20pm – 90 minutes before he was scheduled to make the walk to the ring.
Dubois went on to suffer a brutal knockout defeat in the fifth round. The Brit struggled to get into the fight. And – despite having some success in the fourth round – was dropped with a right hand before being sent crashing to the canvas seconds later with a stinging left, which forced the referee to wave off the fight.
Prior to his bout with Usyk, footage has emerged of Dubois’ dad throwing a party in his Essex home just hours before the fight. It has been reported that around 70 people attended the bash – some of whom ‘Triple D’ didn’t even know. A video – which has gone viral online – shows Dubois being mobbed by partygoers at his house while music plays in the background.
Further reports state that the 27-year-old left the home and briefly went for a quick drive. His father later drove him to Wembley after private cars – which were accredited to enter the area around the national stadium – were used to transport guests to the venue.
That only delayed Dubois’ arrival as the car they travelled in was not accredited and he did not get into the venue until 90 minutes before the scheduled ring walk time. Usyk turned up slightly earlier to watch his good friend and teammate Daniel Lapin compete on the undercard. There were also chaotic scenes when entering the venue over getting some of those party guests into the venue with Dubois held up in the middle of it all.
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Speaking on talkSPORT, Joseph Parker, Lawrence Okolie and Spencer Oliver were all left stunned by the reports. “That is insanely disruptive,” said Joseph Parker. “I’m very surprised, I’m shocked. That many people over? You’re preparing for a massive fight. You need rest, you need to chill, you need to get in the zone, and he’s got this big party happening.”
Lawrence Okolie concurred: “The problem is, it’s coming from someone that he looks (to) out of the ring. It’s coming from his dad. I’ve trained with him, his dad’s a huge part of his life, so that is obviously going to be disruptive,” while Spencer Oliver added: “We’re talking about fighters being regimental and superstitious on the day, some fighters want to wear a ring in their laces and all that stuff. It all has to be on point for you to go in there, any little thing can throw you off track.”
When is Daniel Dubois’ next fight?
Whether the constant delays on the day of the fight affected Dubois’ performance remains to be seen. As for what’s next for the young Brit, his promoter Frank Warren has advised ‘Triple D’ to take six months off and learn from Usyk’s mental resilience if he wants to make it back to the top.
Warren stated: “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. 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.”
