Not for the first time in his career, Daniel Dubois finds himself returning to the boxing ring with something to prove.
The Londoner was second best once again against Oleksandr Usyk a year ago as the Ukrainian was crowned undisputed heavyweight champion for a second time at Wembley Stadium. Dubois lost his world title that night and was thoroughly outclassed on the night as he joined Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in the exclusive club of fighters to twice challenge Usyk’s dominance and come up short on both occasions.
At previous stages in his career, defeats have required a rebuild of sorts. Ahead of Saturday’s WBO heavyweight title showdown against Fabio Wardley, work has gone on behind the scenes with trainer Don Charles and his head of performance analysis Mohammad Ali and the overriding message is clear. ‘You will see a very different Daniel,’ Ali told Metro.
‘That is a word that means a lot to Daniel, with the focus of challenging for a world title again. And it is not something they will expect.’
Much has been expected of Dubois since he emerged as a hulking 18-year-old prospect in 2017. He was 23 when he suffered a punishing defeat against Joe Joyce, the first of his career after he was beaten into submission on a night where his heart was questioned.
What followed was a run of three different trainers in three years and while there was some success along the way, it was his link-up with Don Charles that lit the fuse again. It was under Charles that Dubois became world champion and secured the best run of victories of his career against Jarrell Miller, Flilip Hrgovic and his demolition job on Joshua in 2024.
After the second Usyk defeat, team Dubois made the decision to end things and turn to Tony Sims. Before they had the chance to christen the partnership with a fight, there was another split with Dubois returning to Charles.
The two have picked up exactly where they left off. ‘Sometimes silence speaks louder than words,’ Ali said. ‘When Don and Dan are quiet, they know exactly what to do. So that’s the difference between a fighter who has got a great connection with the coach and the team as well. We all know Daniel very well, we don’t need to be any different with him.’
Ali’s role inside the Dubois gym has focused as much on Wardley as it has on ‘Triple D.’ Wardley’s rise has been magnificent viewing, doing away with domestic rivals in David Adeleye and Frazer Clarke before knocking out Justin Huni at Portman Road last summer. Last October, he added to his highlight reel with a late stoppage of former world champion Joseph Parker who was at the time arguably the most in-form fighter in his division after Usyk.
Wardley was crowned interim WBO champion that night, upgraded to full world champion a month later when Usyk vacated the belt.
Wardley has been in entertaining fights at every stage in his career and Saturday’s maiden title defence promises to be just as explosive. But Ali believes there are glaring limitations ready to be exposed.
‘Fabio’s weaknesses are there on a plate, you can see it as soon as he goes into a fight and the opening bell goes,’ he said. ‘You can see the weaknesses in his style. Part of it is he is lucky, there are fights where things could have gone differently. In the first fight against Frazer Clarke, Frazer was unlucky not to win. He knocked out Huni but he was losing rounds in that fight. I think the Parker fight was stopped prematurely that night, I think he had more in the tank.
‘We can’t take anything away from Fabio but his weaknesses from a boxing analysis perspective, they are there to be exploited. But if there is one thing he hits 10/10 in, it is his resilience. He doesn’t stop.’
As long as Usyk is around, there can be little debate who the no1 fighter in boxing’s blue riband division is. It’s a rare situation where Dubois and his team will settle for second place. For now.
‘The difference is Usyk is one of a kind,’ Ali said. ‘In years to come, people will understand Usyk was the Lionel Messi of boxing. Personally I think the only guy who can match Oleksandr in history is Muhammad Ali. People maybe won’t see it or say it now. But it is that level you are dealing with.
‘Daniel is the second-best heavyweight on the planet. Hopefully that fight [a trilogy with Usyk] can happen again.’