Daniel Dubois has received online backlash following the emergence of footage and reports of an alleged party hours before his meeting with Oleksandr Usyk.
First reported by TalkSport, there was an alleged party at the house of ‘DDD’ during the day before Dubois got stopped by Usyk in their heavyweight unification bout.
Dubois suffered a second consecutive loss to Usyk, as he was knocked out in the fifth round of their bout.
One former champion has blasted Dubois for his actions, including an unflattering comparison to a legend.
Johnny Nelson fumes at Daniel Dubois for pre-fight house party
In a recent interview with Boxing King Media, former cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson was discussing Dubois’ loss to Usyk.
During the interview, he is shown the footage of the alleged Dubois pre-fight party, to which he responds, “Absolutely baffles me. You’re thinking, you know what Daniel, what’s going on there?”
Nelson added, “I just think man’s drinking, man’s just living up, man’s having a good time. I’m just thinking, this is a serious time when you should be locked in. You can never turn this time back.”
The former world champion went on to compare Dubois to Roberto Duran before his rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard. “Remember when Roberto Duran boxed Sugar Ray Leonard in the second fight? Sugar Ray Leonard was chasing down that fight Roberto was drunk on success. He was out partying, he wasn’t preparing.”
Leonard even admitted he chased the Duran rematch due to ‘El Cholo’s’ lifestyle habits at the time.
Nelson said that Dubois ‘may as well have been working for Usyk’s corner,’ due to his pre-fight actions. He then added, “It goes against every rule in boxing. Every single rule.”
Daniel Dubois’ pre-fight party allegedly set up by his father
In the report by TalkSport, it is understood that the alleged party before Dubois’ world title bout was arranged by his father.
It is also understood that there were up to 70 people at the event, with Dubois knowing few of the attendees. “There was a party, at Daniel Dubois’ house, ordered by his father, with about 70 people at the house. The afternoon of [the fight]… The people who were there were not known to Daniel,” according to Simon Jordan.
Jordan added that Dubois’ father allegedly attempted to get attendees of the party admission into Wembley Stadium for the fight.
When problems arose letting the guests in for the fight, Dubois’s father reportedly said, “Unless you let these guys in, he’s [Dubois] not fighting.”