THE infamous sparring session between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, which took place back in 2016, has not appeared to escape the mind of Queensberry promoter Frank Warren.
With countless variations of the story having been told, ‘AJ’ was either rocked, dropped or stopped when Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs), at 18 years old, visited the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
But regardless of which version is closest to the truth, the murmurings were convincing enough for Warren to take a punt on the promising, yet largely unproven, heavyweight.
Back then, though, it was not so much that the Queensberry promotions boss had taken a shot in the dark – based loosely on a sparring rumour – but more that the noise surrounding a young Dubois was, at the time, almost deafening.
In equal measure, it was also impossible to ignore the compelling tale that a raw novice, barely even an adult, had done a number on Joshua, 28-4 (25 KOs), the then world heavyweight champion.
Either way, Warren had heard enough, and seen plenty with his own eyes, to know that Dubois was a gamble worth sticking a great lump of money behind.
As he now gears up for an undisputed clash with heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk, however, it must be said that a vastly different version of the IBF champion, a once timid prospect, has suddenly emerged.
His mentality, more than anything else, has put him in a far stronger position than he was in prior to their first encounter in 2023.
‘Dynamite’ did, of course, suffer a ninth-round stoppage defeat to the formidable Ukrainian, but now hopes for a drastically different outcome at Wembley Stadium, London, on July 19.
Regarding the 27-year-old’s mindset change, meanwhile, his career-long promoter, Warren, admits that even he has been somewhat taken by surprise.
“Without being disrespectful, he wasn’t very mature, mentally, but he was only a kid,” Warren told Boxing News, reflecting on the day he first met Dubois.
“As much as he’s a boxer, he came from a pretty sheltered background. But he’s a beast – he can hurt you.
“I’ve seen the sparring that he’s had with people; everyone knows about the sparring he had with ‘AJ’ in the early days.
“I believe what I’ve been told. But the fact is that we put our money up, put our belief in him, put all of our energy behind him, and made sure that he got the opportunities.
“He’s had a few hiccups along the way, but he’s done what he had to do. He can take the fight out of you with just one punch.”
