‘I've never seen anything like it' – Daniel Dubois defies logic with gymnastics training a secret to his success
Dubois has worked with calisthenics coach Cuong Hua for the past seven years - performing moves no 6ft 5in and 17 STONE man should ever be able to do.
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Calisthenics a form of strength training that uses your own body weight as resistance - for example pull ups and press ups.
It is usually the main base of training for gymnasts - but in IBF heavyweight champion Dubois case it extends to boxing.
Trainer Hua told SunSport: "The optimal weight and size gymnast for men is 5ft 8 max, 65-75kg.
"But Daniel, I've said before he's cut from a different cloth. He's built differently.
"His body weight, for a big man, I've never seen anything like it. I've trained a lot of smaller guys, I've worked with boxers but Daniel is something else.
"Even compared to some of the smaller boxers I've worked with, his body weight on the bar, on the ring, it's completely something else."
Hua added: "This is calisthenics, it's been around for thousands of years.
"It's the oldest from of training and the most organic where you're just using your body weight.
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OLEKSANDR USYK and Daniel Dubois meet again in a blockbuster heavyweight unification fight at Wembley Stadium THIS SATURDAY!
Usyk won the first fight in August 2023 via a ninth round KO - but only after Dubois knocked him to the canvas with a body blow that was ruled a low blow.
Dubois, 27, has improved massively since that first meeting, reeling off stunning wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua.
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"The strength that you can build, that kind of pound for pound weigh that the gymnasts have, I think you can only get that from body weight and calisthenics and movement and mobility."
Dubois is no stranger to age-old training methods.
He turned professional in 2017 off the back of stories of how he would do press ups for up to FIVE HOURS on the orders of his dad.
And Dubois, 27, said: "I think it has massively the help from Cuong and everyone else that's added to me.
"And also just the basic ground work my dad made me and my siblings do when we were younger, that's still in us.
"So I'm going to have the athletic edge over these guys."
Dubois heads into the biggest fight of his career on Saturday against Oleksandr Usyk - who he was beaten by in nine rounds in 2023.
Since that loss, the Londoner has beaten Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and most recently Anthony Joshua by knockout in September.
And he said ahead of the undisputed showdown: "I'm going to come in with one goal in mind and that's to win. Win by any means necessary.
"Sharp, on point, serious work, serious business and on the night perform to the best I've ever fought like it's my last fight."
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