Dubois' redemption is a British boxing love story

Daniel Dubois  wrote his name into British heavyweight boxing lore in Manchester with his incredible victory over Fabio Wardley . 

Before their WBO world heavyweight title fight on Saturday night, cries of "Oh Fabio Wardley" rang loudly around the Co-op Live Arena. It felt like most of the crowd had come to see the next chapter of the Wardley fairytale play out. 

And many good boxing judges who had tipped Wardley to be too much for the Londoner looked to be on the money as Dubois crashed to the canvas within 10 seconds of the opening bell. 

He was down again in round three, but Dubois was unmoved by the swirling vortex of excitable people in the crowd. 

He is a fighter who could never be accused over over-thinking it. But he is a fighter to his core. There are moments when that jab lands with the dreadful inevitability of a tax demand. 

The Londoner made light of weighing in at a career-heavy 18 stone for Saturday's all-British heavyweight showdown as he roared back from a disastrous start to stop Wardley in the 11th round of a modern classic and become a two-time world champion. 

It was a battle for the ages and the heart both men displayed in this epic was quite incredible. Indeed, it’s mind blowing to think that Wardley didn’t go down in the fight given the ferocious punches he absorbed. 

 

 

It was 11 rounds of brutality. Kudos to the referee too. He let the fight flow but stepped in at the right time as Mr Wardley was being too brave for his own good. 

The pair got one final look at each other at Friday's weigh-in inside of DAZN’s impressive ‘Cauldron’ with host Simon Jordan – a boxing media figure known for his outspoken and combative style - trying to stoke the flames. 

"I'm going to put him to sleep tomorrow," said Dubois matter-of-factly. 

Left hook could reset your Wi-Fi 

You see we don’t love Dubois for his ability to quote Ernest Hemingway in interviews. We love him because his left hook could reset your Wi-Fi. 

In an age where too many fighters are shaped and pre-packaged as ‘brands,’ Dubois possesses the increasingly rare and unique quality of seeming entirely unmanufactured. 

Indeed, he quite literally walked out of – or cut short - more interviews in fight week than Oleksandr Usyk’s got belts, including a particularly hard to watch one-to-one with Ariel Helwani. 

When he speaks there are pauses. Long pauses. Pauses during which entire civilisations could rise, flourish and collapse. And yet somehow this only deepens the affection we have for him. 

OK, his trash-talking needs some refinement, and sometimes strays into amateur comedy. Nobody who heard it will forget his classic during a presser with American motormouth Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller ahead of their December 2023 throwdown when he said: 

“Yo Big Baby, Every Baby has a daddy - I'm gonna beat you like I'm your daddy…” 

Of course, the critics have had their feast days. The knee against Joe Joyce. The accusations that he could have continued in the second Usyk fight. The constant sniping about his heart and cojones. Well, he proved beyond doubt on Saturday that he is not a fighter who folds when things get uncomfortable. 

And the truth is, the old fight scribes – on both sides of the pond - would have recognised him instantly. They would have appreciated the vulnerability in Daniel. That peculiar mixture of menace and bewilderment. Dubois does not swagger so much as loom. At times he resembles an affable bricklayer who has accidentally wandered into a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace. 

And then there is the punching. Dear God, the punching. 

His overhand right travels with all the subtle diplomacy of a wrecking ball careering into a conservatory. 

He can box too. The unorthodox rhythm makes him far harder to time as he explodes into mid-range. While languid in his body language outside the ring, Dubois is transformed when he jumps into the squared circle. 

Big win against fancied WBO champ 

This was quite the win. WBO champ Wardley was unbeaten and had been through some hellacious ring wars himself and crucially prevailed every time. Rugged and violent, he had been to some dark places but was a fighter that had always found a way. Until Saturday. 

There were times when Dubois was landing cleanly on Wardley in Manchester, the impact was such that somewhere in distant suburbs, dogs barked nervously and old men spilt tea onto their trousers. Wardley’s chin was just incredible on the night. He was all heart, and it never ceases to amaze me what these boxers do for our entertainment. 

But Dubois would not be denied. When he is in flow state, it is almost impossible for anyone not named Usyk to stop him. 

Dubois doesn’t radiate theatrical malice. He inspires affection because he seems vulnerable yet unbowed. And if there’s one thing the British public like almost as much as an underdog, it’s an anti-hero. 

So yes, this is a love letter (and the fact I was on Dubois by KO, TKO or Disqualification at 9/4 quite heavy is entirely irrelevant). 

Not because Daniel Dubois is flawless, but because he is gloriously human in a sport that often mistakes loudness for courage. He reminds us that not all heavyweights need to be egotists, philosophers or social media influencers. Sometimes it is enough to be an introverted young man with dynamite in both fists and the emotional demeanour someone waiting for a delayed train from London Bridge to Brighton. 

And in Britain, perhaps more than anywhere else, that is enough to make people love you forever.

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