‘I've never seen anything like it' – Daniel Dubois defies logic with gymnastics training a secret to his success
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HULKING heavyweight Daniel Dubois defies logic with ancient training methods from 1,000 years ago proving the 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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Hulking Daniel Dubois uses age old training methods
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Here is the heavyweight with calisthenics coach Cuong Hua
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Calisthenics a form of strength training that uses your own body weight as resistance
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Trainer Hua has 'never seen anything like it' when it comes to Dubois
Credit: YouTube / Sun Sport News
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.
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"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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"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.
In camp with Daniel Dubois ahead of Oleksandr Usyk bout
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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Oleksandr Usyk beat Dubois in 2023
Credit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
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Metro
16 minutes ago
- Metro
Daniel Dubois' shocking punching stats against Oleksandr Usyk
Frank Warren lavished praise on the 'special' Oleksandr Usyk following his victory over Daniel Dubois – but questioned his fighter's own performance after he was knocked out at Wembley. Usyk was crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world again after delivering another best in class performance against British opposition, stopping Dubois with a devastating left hook in the fifth round of their contest. The undefeated Ukrainian has cleaned house in boxing's blue riband division having beaten Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and now Dubois twice, still at the very top of his game at 38 years old. Over a decade younger, Dubois had been backed by plenty to end Usyk's reign. Despite a strong opening round where he took centre of the ring, Usyk masterfully took control with his southpaw jab. Usyk dropped the Briton to his knees in the fifth round with a vicious right hook. While Dubois rose back to his feet, a ruthless left send him back down unable to meet the referee's count. Warren has now watched Usyk outclass his two top heavyweight names in Dubois and Fury across four fights. While dazzled by the champion's craft, the Queensberry Promotions chief explained a lack of head movement cost his fighter, believing there 'was something he could have done differently' while also questioning Dubois' 'mental attitude'. 'I do think he could have done something different,' Warren said in the post-fight press conference. 'When he was letting his jab go he was doing well. But he just stopped. He dropped his hands and we could have done with some more head movement. 'What does he take from it? He takes from it that he has got to have more head movement. You don't want to be knocked down, it's a fact of life. When he got knocked down, he should have looked to the corner, let them pick up the count and take his time. But it didn't happen. He's [Usyk] a good finisher. A very good finisher. He's a tough guy, he's hard as nails. 'Daniel has to develop the mental attitude that Usyk has. He didn't stick to the task and he got careless and paid the price.' Uysk stopped Dubois in the ninth round of their first fight two years ago in Poland, recovering from a low blow to dominate his rival. It was a similar story on Saturday night. Usyk is one of the most elusive fighters in the sport and has made a name out of making the division's biggest hitters miss. Dubois outpunched his rival, attempting 179 shots – 26 more than Usyk did across the five rounds. The Londoner found his target just 35 times however, hitting double figures for punches landed in just one round. Usyk meanwhile connected with 57 of his 153, seeing out the fight with an impressive hit rate of 37.3 per cent – almost double that of Dubois which stood at 19.6 per cent. In the final round when it all ended for him, Dubois landed just two shots on his opponent with Usyk hitting him with 12 of the 17 shots he threw in in that onslaught – a remarkable hit rate of 70.6 per cent. Dubois crushing victory over Anthony Joshua last September confirmed his standing as the country's new heavyweight star. Last night's defeat was a damaging one – the third of his career having lost to Usyk in 2023 with Joe Joyce handing him his first career defeat in 2020. None of those defeats were close run affairs. While stern in his post-fight reflections of his fighter's performance, Warren pointed to the example set by another British heavyweight great in Frank Bruno, who's determination to return from setbacks better than before made him such a force. Daniel will have a little break, think about a few things and he will have to resurrect himself again,' Warren said. 'Daniel is very disappointed, he is in the dressing room at the moment and if he is to come back from it, he has to learn from it. I look back at Frank Bruno for example. Three times he fought for the world title and he got it on the fourth attempt. Daniel, has won a world title so hopefully he can come back and learn from it.' Dubois is unlikely to walk straight back into a world title fight but there are still huge fights ahead of him – namely the Joshua rematch. There are other major domestic dust-ups that could be considered against Fabio Wardley and Derek Chisora. Moses Itauma, also promoted by Frank Warren, is another option although the 20-year-old already has huge title aspirations of his own, in action against Dillian Whyte in August. More Trending Dubois has bounced back from previous setbacks and returned to the ring an improved fighter. At 27, he now has huge world title experience behind him. When his fighter does return to the ring, Warren insisted it will be against a 'quality fighter'. 'What level of opponent? Well, he has got to come back and make a statement,' he said. 'And make a statement against a quality fighter. that's what he did last time and that is what he is going to have to do.' MORE: Jake Paul insists Anthony Joshua fight will happen as Tyson Fury makes prediction MORE: Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2: Fight time, TV channel, undercard and odds MORE: Daniel Dubois can eclipse Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua after making vital change
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Who will Oleksandr Usyk fight next after stopping Daniel Dubois again?
Oleksandr Usyk underlined his class as a generational talent in the ring with a superb fifth-round stoppage over Daniel Dubois at Wembley. The bout, a rematch of their controversial first clash in 2023, earned Usyk his 24th win and saw him become undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time. As the dust settles on his dominant victory over the Briton, attention is already turning to who the 38-year-old may face next. The Ukrainian made no allusions to retirement, instead telling the Wembley crowd: 'Next, I don't know. I want to rest now – maybe two, three months just rest.' But he left himself open to a number of challengers, mentioning three names in in his post-fight interview: Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker. Derek Chisora was also tabled as a potential opponent. Dubois' promoter Frank Warren confirmed Parker is next in line, in a mandatory defence for the WBA champion. But it was YouTuber-cum-boxer Jake Paul who stepped into the ring to face off against Usyk, mere moments after he defeated Dubois, leading to speculation that the American would be his next opponent. Paul has a 12-1 record as a professional boxer, with his most recent result a points win over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. However, Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh said last week that Paul has 'accepted' a fight with Anthony Joshua, potentially complicating plans for Usyk to fight either of the pair. Joshua's last bout came in September, when he suffered a knockout loss to Dubois at Wembley. Fury was the first name Usyk suggested, receiving cheers from the Wembley crowd, with the Briton recently announcing another return from retirement.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
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Oleksandr Usyk proves too strong again for Daniel Dubois at Wembley
Daniel Dubois' undisputed world heavyweight dreams went up in smoke under the Wembley arch after he tasted defeat to Oleksandr Usyk for a second time. Home favourite Dubois was back at the national stadium 10 months on from his stunning knockout win over Anthony Joshua and in the ring with Usyk for a second time. Advertisement Usyk had shown his class during a one-sided contest in Krakow in 2023, where Dubois was adjudged to have landed an illegal low blow in the fifth round, but the Ukrainian had been warned throughout fight week he would face a 'different' boxer on this occasion. Daniel Dubois was beaten in the fifth round (Bradley Collyer/PA) Yet, the undefeated 38-year-old again proved too strong for Dubois. After Usyk enjoyed the better of the opening four rounds, he produced a masterful fifth-round finish to further cement his status as one of boxing's all-time greats. After Usyk put Dubois down with a powerful right punch, the British boxer bravely made it back to his feet but was floored again a matter of seconds later by a huge left hook to lose for a third time. It earned Usyk the 24th win of a stellar professional career and ensured he got his hands back on the IBF title to add to his WBA, WBO and WBC belts and become undisputed in the blue riband division for a second time, in what was dubbed his penultimate bout. Advertisement '38 is a young guy, remember! 38 is only start,' Usyk smirked after he secured a seventh consecutive triumph against British fighters. Even though the crowd was slightly down on the 96,000 packed in to see Dubois shock Joshua in September, the prize on offer was even greater with all four world heavyweight belts on the line for the first time in England. OLEKSANDR USYK KNOCKS OUT DANIEL DUBOIS🤯 #UsykDubois2 — DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 19, 2025 The prospect of being undisputed in the blue-riband division had long been a goal for Dubois and after a dramatic build-up to the bout with a push on the Wembley turf followed by the scream in the face of Usyk on Tuesday, the talking was over. Following spectacular ring walks with fireworks for both men, the duo immediately traded off but while Dubois briefly had Usyk on the ropes, the former cruiserweight slipped out in classy fashion and finished round one with a flush left hook to the face of the Londoner. Advertisement It was a similar story in rounds two and three with Usyk's movement too good for Dubois, who got caught twice when trying to land the money shot. Dubois turned to the body in the fourth round but Usyk continued to show his experience and craft as the British boxer failed to land cleanly. The eagerness of Dubois to make his mark was evident at the start of round five when he was ready 10 seconds before the count, but it would soon be curtains for the 27-year-old. Usyk almost got the job done with a huge right, which floored Dubois who showed guts to rise again after an eight-second count. Advertisement It would prove a false dawn as almost immediately Usyk landed a massive left hook and there was no coming back this time for Dubois as his undisputed dream ended in painful fashion on home turf. Usyk hinted at another fight with Joshua or Fury (Bradley Collyer/PA) Dubois is the third fighter from Britain, after Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, to lose twice to the 6ft 3in southpaw. An understandably jovial Usyk hinted at another showdown with Fury and Joshua during his post-fight interview but made clear his desire to 'rest' after he experienced London jubilation for a third time following Olympic gold at the London Games in 2012 and his maiden world heavyweight titles at Tottenham's stadium four years ago. 'Next? I don't know. I want to rest. Yeah, Derek (Chisora) here? I don't know,' Usyk reflected before his next answer sparked enormous cheers. Advertisement 'Maybe Tyson Fury? 'Three options, Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua. Maybe Joseph Parker. Listen, I cannot say because I want to go back home.'
