Chaotic build-up tested Daniel Dubois before Oleksandr Usyk fight

Times

20-07-2025

As the clock neared midnight in the bowels of Wembley Stadium, Oleksandr Usyk was asked how it felt to be one of boxing's all-time great fighters. 'I'm just Alex, a Ukrainian guy,' said the two-times undisputed heavyweight champion.
A rare bastion of modesty in a sport sold on macho, Usyk instead deferred the praise to the training team surrounding him, some of whom are childhood friends from Simferopol in Crimea, and have remained by his side throughout an astonishing run spanning an Olympic gold medal in 2012 and supremacy in two weight divisions.
A few hours earlier in the opposing locker room, the contrast could hardly have been starker. Daniel Dubois had not arrived at Wembley until 8.20pm on Saturday, less than 90 minutes before he was due to make his ring walk. A source close to the British heavyweight's team described a chaotic chain of events that began during fight week when his father, Stanley, who takes close control of his son's career, apparently became agitated by a sensationalist article claiming the total purse for the fight was £150million; it is understood Dubois is expected to earn under £10million.
That point of consternation gave way to a madcap fight day when Stanley hosted a party for dozens of his friends at the family mansion in Essex, where Daniel still lives, in the afternoon. The source claimed Dubois, a reclusive character despite the spotlight of the profession his father guided him towards, did not know all of the guests well and left at one stage for a drive.
From there, the source claims their departure was delayed after Stanley requested extra people carriers to bring his entourage to the venue. He then drove Daniel to the venue himself, which caused another administrative issue as only the designated vehicles had been accredited.
They then walked to the stadium entrance on foot from the car park, but a video clip shows Stanley calling Daniel towards the door after security attempted to prevent some of his friends from entering. The source alleges Stanley essentially told them Daniel would not proceed without them.
Stanley Dubois has been approached for comment.
The commotion was described as an unnecessary distraction that truncated Dubois's final preparations for the bout. The gulf in class between Dubois and Usyk assured it would not have changed the result, but the fact that Stanley was in the corner, often shouting instructions over his trainer Don Charles throughout the fight, added to the sense of maelstrom.
After the Briton's spirited but ultimately unsustainable effort in the first two rounds, it was Stanley who threw in the towel in the fifth after an overhand left knocked Dubois down for the second time. While Usyk's team celebrated their victory back in the changing room, it is understood Stanley left the stadium before Daniel with his younger brother, Solomon. Presumably, the entourage evaporated too.
Dubois is still only 27 and showed clear improvements in victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua to establish himself among the elite as the IBF champion — it should be noted that Stanley also threw a party before the Joshua fight to no great consequence. In fact, it is said to have eased Dubois's nerves compared to previous fights when he grew tense.
Usyk may only have surrendered that belt because of boxing's political wranglings, but it is still no mean feat for a boxer forged in a cramped flat on a council estate in southeast London. Dubois will come again because his entire life has always revolved around boxing, whether it meant skipping school to do press-ups on his fists for hours on end, and largely forgoing childhood friends and even the internet at his father's behest.
It has already taken them further than everyone except Stanley, who claims he had a 'spiritual vision' that his next-born son would become a world champion, could have imagined, even if aspects of their relationship have drawn scrutiny.
As for Usyk, his place among the all-time greats was already secure long before this bout, which only makes his longevity more remarkable. Tyson Fury pushed him close in their first fight in particular before Usyk made the adjustments to nullify an enormous size difference. Joshua could not comprehend how Usyk's vastly superior skill was able to stifle his power; cue his meltdown after their rematch. A golden generation for British heavyweight boxing has been single-handedly consigned to silver; Usyk has also beaten Tony Bellew and Derek Chisora.
Perhaps the quality of those glory days have been overblown, even if they delivered many great spectacles. Joshua nearly lost his defining bout against an aged Wladimir Klitschko before he was stunned by Andy Ruiz Jr.
Fury went life-and-death with the MMA fighter Francis Ngannou and was taken into deep waters by Otto Wallin, even if his trilogy with Deontay Wilder was mesmerising viewing.
Or rather, perhaps Usyk is simply so good that he would have stood out in any generation. Lennox Lewis, Usyk's predecessor as undisputed champion, would certainly argue against that. Muhammad Ali's movement, Larry Holmes's jab, and Mike Tyson's power, among others, would too.
Instead, Usyk's hardest fight as a professional might actually have been against Mairis Briedis, a Latvian former police officer, whom he defeated via a close decision back in 2018.
It can be a funny old game like that, but the fact Usyk's name can even be mentioned among the sport's heavyweight icons is a testament to the fact that he not only beat everyone in front of him, but did so on away soil as the sporting symbol of a nation's defiance.
Boxing is so easily lamented for its scandal and unsavoury characters that overshadow the bravery of those in the ring. But in Usyk, it has a peerless champion and a prize ambassador that history will celebrate.