Daniel Dubois believes that the officials were influenced by the occasion in his defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in 2023.

The pair first met in Wroclaw, Poland, where many Ukrainians had made their home after fleeing their country due to the ongoing war with Russia. Usyk, who had himself fought on the front line during the war, was set to defend his unified heavyweight titles against Dubois in what was seen as a celebration of his country.

During the contest, Dubois hit Usyk with a body shot that was ruled illegal by Puerto Rican referee Luis Pabon in Round 5. Usyk was visibly hurt by the shot and took over three minutes of the allocated five to recover and return to action. Dubois and his team maintain to this day that the shot was legal and that Usyk should have been counted out by the referee. Usyk went on to outclass Dubois, eventually stopping him in the ninth round of the contest.

Since then, Dubois has been on a resurgence, picking up a heavyweight title of his own, and is now set to rematch Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on July 19 at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Dubois spoke to members of the media ahead of his second bout with Usyk and was asked for his opinion on the shot that has caused so much controversy.

“Yeah, I got through with that shot – that was like a punch from the gods,” Dubois said. “They were able to turn it around with it being more than just a fight, political and everything. That's in the past now. That's gone. I'm a man of the future.”

Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren was asked if he believed the occasion may have played a part in the officiating of the contest.

“I'm a big Ukraine supporter. It shouldn't be, but who knows?” said Warren. “And it wasn't the officials, it was the referee. The referee was at fault. The referee didn't ... it's on film. The referee's supposed to go to the dressing room before the fight and explain what the rules are. He didn't do that. He did not say anything about the area, even though it's on the area. He didn't do that. So the referee was at fault from the start.”

Dubois trainer Don Charles has labeled Usyk a “cheat” for his behavior during the first contest. He believes he fooled the referee into believing the shot was low and even went as far as saying that he deserved an Oscar for his performance.

“Yeah, they might have played the crowd and got out of it,” said Dubois on his trainer’s comments. “I think it being in Poland and everything, and having the judges and everything on his side. But, yeah, regardless of that, I want my team to make up a stir, to irritate him. I want them to say that. They've got to say that. I'm paying them to say that.”

Dubois received criticism after the first fight with Usyk for how the contest ended. Things were getting tough for Dubois, and after a stiff jab landed on the Londoners’ chin, Dubois took a knee for the full 10-count.

“I think it was many things, just many things going against me in that fight,” said Dubois on the incident. “It ended the way it ended. You guys saw what happened. From that defeat, I've come back and I feel like I'm a new person. That whole experience has just driven me on to succeed and improve.”

Since that defeat against Usyk, Dubois has been on a roll, dismantling Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, each one more impressive and violent than the last.

“I think the whole experience, not just the [Usyk] fight, but the training for the fight, the camp for the fight – that was all part of strengthening me,” he said on his turn in form. “I used that to turn into fire and just went through the next couple of guys.”