AN internal inquest, led by Frank and George Warren, is set to take place, putting Daniel Dubois’ pre-fight party under the microscope.
Alarm bells were raised when a video, which emerged on social media shortly after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, revealed that Dubois, 22-3 (21 KOs), had found himself in the middle of a sizable gathering.
This had taken place on the day of his rematch with Usyk, affording the 27-year-old less than two hours of preparation upon his arrival at Wembley Stadium, London.
In the end, it was the Ukrainian’s masterful performance, and not Dubois’ unorthodox fight day routine, that saw him become a three-time undisputed champion last Saturday.
Yet even so, several members of the boxing fraternity have nonetheless expressed their disapproval, insisting that the Brit’s pre-fight party, or gathering, hardly gave him the best possible chance to pull off the upset.
But while his fifth-round stoppage defeat cannot be reversed, it appears that an official meeting, involving Team Dubois and the Warrens, will soon be held.
“There’s a meeting pending,” Dubois’ head coach, Don Charles, told BBC Sport. “We’ll hold an internal inquest on what happened. Questions will be asked by Frank and George Warren [of Queensberry Promotions].”
According to Charles, it was the Londoner’s father, Stan Dubois, who had invited the large group of people round to their house.
Boxing News’ 2025 trainer of the year, however, admits that the same pre-fight ritual was used prior to Dubois’ fifth-round stoppage victory over Anthony Joshua last September.
“This gathering is the same gathering which was used for the AJ fight day preparation,” Charles said.
“To put logic to it, the father [Stan Dubois] mainly replicated the recipe that worked against AJ to hopefully get a victory last Saturday, and it didn’t work.
“Consequently, there is now a big highlight on this party, which was a gathering.”
While Charles insists that he was given ample time to prepare Dubois for his second encounter with Usyk, the fact that he turned up late to the venue is nonetheless a cause for concern.
As a result, the Warrens, who have guided the career of ‘Dynamite’ since his professional debut, may look to delve a little deeper into the story.
