The curious pre-fight ‘party’ that was staged for Daniel Dubois mere hours before he lost in five rounds against Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium “can’t happen again” says promoter Frank Warren.
Dubois, who during that July rematch with Usyk lost the IBF heavyweight title, makes his return on May 9 when he challenges Fabio Wardley for the WBO belt at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
Dubois, a Londoner, also had a pre-fight gathering before he upset Anthony Joshua in 2024. That bout, and the Usyk return, took place at Wembley Stadium. Manchester, however, is approximately 200 miles away from Dubois’ home. “The good thing is they'll be in Manchester, so they'll be staying in a hotel,” Warren told Sky Sports.
Needless to say, the promoter wasn’t happy last July. Dubois - who was also beaten by Usyk in seven rounds in 2023 - was reportedly left outside the venue as members of his entourage struggled to gain entry.
“When he was late getting there," Warren said. "I was tearing my hair out, what I've got left. I can't be arguing with everyone when he's two hours away from the biggest fight ever but afterwards we had a sitdown and said what we had to say.”
The 22-3 (21 KOs) heavyweight is back with Don Charles after briefly leaving the coach for Tony Sims following the second defeat to Usyk.
Charles, incidentally, is no stranger to dealing with heavyweights who turn up late for their biggest fight. Back in 2012 he was pacing the changing rooms of Upton Park waiting for Derek Chisora to show up for his showdown with David Haye. When Chisora eventually appeared, he revealed he’d made a pitstop at Burger King.
Dubois, though, is unlikely to go missing this time. Under Charles, he defeated Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Joshua and Warren is optimistic that he’s now settled after realising that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
“He's in a good place at the moment,” Warren said. “Leaving Don and then going back has been good for him that he's been elsewhere and seen he's more comfortable with Don. There's been a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes for that fight which has been well documented.”
