Daniel Dubois has proven doubters wrong multiple times throughout his career, but looks to do it once more against Joseph Parker on February 22nd.
Daniel Dubois moved to 22-2 in September 2024 after an emphatic performance against Anthony Joshua.
Despite holding the belt, Dubois was a heavy underdog, but flattened Joshua, knocking him down in the first, third, fourth and fifth rounds before stopping him for good.
This marked just the latest in a recent string of impressive performances following Dubois’ loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
Since that loss, the 27-year-old has fought and stopped Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Joshua.
His only two losses come at the hands of Usyk and Joe Joyce, who Dubois fought in 2020. Dubois lost the fight after taking a knee due to a fractured eye socket. He also took a knee in the Usyk fight in the ninth round.
Daniel Dubois’ famous doubters include Billy Joe Saunders, Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora and more
Perhaps the biggest critic of Dubois’ performance against Joyce was Billy Joe Saunders.
Saunders took to social media to post a video suggesting Dubois quit: “I’m never gonna criticize a man if he was seriously injured but… get carried out the ring brother, get carried out the ring.”
In an interesting turn of events, Saunders would find himself in almost the exact same position, when he was forced to quit in his fight with Canelo Alvarez after a similar injury.
Dillian Whyte also chimed in with the criticism: “I’ve got nothing to say, man. Man’s out here quitting. Man’s out here quitting mid-fight.”
Whyte is now set to face Joyce himself on April 5th.
Former champion turned pundit, Tony Bellew, also weighed in following Dubois’ loss to Usyk.
As reported by Seconds Out, Bellew said: “With Daniel, not just me, everyone has questioned his mental fortitude.
We’ve seen the Joe Joyce fight, he takes a knee and he doesn’t continue. That is a trait in boxing that when that is shown you never really come back from it.
It’s harsh but it’s a fact, once a quitter always a quitter.”
Bellew was stopped by Usyk in the final fight of his career, and Usyk’s final fight at cruiserweight.
Derek Chisora, who beat Joyce in his fight before last, acknowledges Dubois as a quitter but suggests he has changed since then.
Speaking to talkSport, Chisora said: “Please, bro, that’s quitting. Let the ref stop it. It doesn’t matter, it’s quitting.”
He did however add, ahead of the Joshua fight, that: “the guy who boxed Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk is not that guy anymore.
He quit, but I don’t think the guy we’re looking at now is gonna quit at Wembley, I don’t think so.”
Dubois has had to dig deep in some of his latest fights, and may need more mental fortitude than ever as he faces Joseph Parker next.
Joseph Parker believes Daniel Dubois has quit before and will quit again
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Parker said of Dubois: “When the fight got hard, it just got too hard for him, and he couldn’t have any more of it.”
When asked about this same topic by The Stomping Ground, Parker did not rule out Dubois quitting in their fight, simply stating: “He’s quit before.”
Parker, who has recently spoken on his depression, won his first world title against Andy Ruiz and lost it against Joshua. He is hoping to become a two-time heavyweight champion in the co-main event of Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev 2.
Beterbiev recently admitted he does not like punching people. Beterbiev also squashed rumours of facing Canelo Alvarez next.
Also on the undercard is Zhilei Zhang, who nearly died in his fight with Jerry Forrest, against Agit Kabayel, Shakur Stevenson vs Floyd Schofield, and Hamzah Sheeraz vs Carlos Adames.
Sheeraz admits he won’t pray to beat Adames as he does not want an ‘unfair advantage.’
Callum Smith is also set to take on Joshua Buatsi to claim the spot of number one challenger for the Beterbiev/Bivol winner, though Smith claims George Groves is a tougher opponent than Buatsi.
These fights and more make up the bill of what may be the best boxing card in history.