Daniel Dubois endured a difficult build-up to his undisputed heavyweight title match with Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday and arrived at Wembley later than many had expected, according to a report.
The British fighter faced the toughest test of his career in the national stadium, suffering defeat for just the third time as a professional – with one of the other two also coming against Usyk.
Dynamite had been given a slight chance of victory by some punters on the back of his demolition of Anthony Joshua last autumn, but many had backed Usyk to get the job done once again and unify the heavyweight division for a second time.
So Dubois needed his preparation to be perfect, and, according to The Times, it wasn’t – with the 27-year-old thought to have only arrived at Wembley less than 90 minutes before he was set to walk to the ring.
It is thought he arrived at around 8:20pm, with events surrounding his father thought to have triggered the chaotic build-up.
Things seemed to go south on the day of the fight, with Dubois’ dad, Stanley, reportedly becoming ‘agitated’ by a report that Dubois was going to earn £150million for the fight, when the actual fee was around £10m.
Daniel Dubois endured a tough build-up to his fight against Oleksandr Usyk due to circumstances surrounding his dad Stanley (right)
Dubois was knocked out in the fifth round of his undisputed heavyweight title fight vs Usyk
It has emerged that Stanley had a party on the day and took Dubois to Wembley himself
Stanley is thought to have hosted a party on the day of the fight with dozen of people attending, even though Dubois still lives at the family mansion in Essex too. He is said to have not known all of the guests well and at one stage left to go for a drive.
Dubois’ journey to the stadium was reportedly delayed after Stanley requested extra vehicles to take the entourage to the venue, and Dubois was taken to the venue by Stanley, with only one of the vehicles accredited.
That resulted in Dubois walking to the stadium on foot, with his dad having parked in the car park.
A video clip is reported to show Stanley heavily involved in the entrance to the stadium, with the former champion’s father reportedly threatening that Dubois would not proceed if his entourage was not allowed in.
Stanley was in Dubois’ corner during the fight. He threw in the towel when his son was knocked down by Usyk for a second time – with the bout coming to an end in the fifth round.
Stanley, whose real name is Dave, homeschooled Dubois as a child and has played a huge part in his rise to the top of boxing.
Speaking in a lengthy interview with The Times, Daniel, alongside his Stanley, revealed the brutal yet enjoyable training program he had been put on as a child which included laps around their council estate and never ending push-ups which left visible scars.
The workouts began when he was about five years old with his father running a disciplined ship.
Stanley is said to have threatened to not allow Dubois to enter the arena without his entourage
It all caused for a chaotic build to the fight on Saturday, with Dubois coming up short in the ring
‘My dad put a lot of work into me, so I got the full brunt of the force. He’s not crazy strict, he’s just disciplined,’ he said.
Although the family was living in a council estate during Dubois’ upbringing, it didn’t stop Stanley from implementing a tough training regime.
The dad of 11, including Caroline Dubois – the interim WBC women’s lightweight champion – managed to get very inventive when it came to ensuring his son reached his peak both mentally and physically.
Stanley also revealed that sometimes he wouldn’t feed Dubois until he had completed his workout.
