In August 2023, Daniel Dubois stepped into the ring against Oleksandr Usyk in Poland. As many anticipated, Usyk controlled the fight from the outset. However, drama unfolded in the fifth round when Dubois landed a controversial shot that dropped the Ukrainian, ruled a low blow by the referee. After taking time to recover, Usyk regained momentum and ultimately secured a ninth-round knockout victory. In the aftermath, criticism swirled around Dubois, with many accusing him of giving up rather than fighting through the adversity. Things haven’t changed much since then. 

Since the loss, Dubois made a massive resurgence, beating Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua all via knockouts. This gave him a second chance to fight Usyk for the title of undisputed champion. But when they fought again last Saturday night at Wembley, the 38-year-old once again beat “DDD” even more decisively by stopping the battle in the fifth round. In the aftermath, those ‘quitting’ allegations returned, with Derek Chisora claiming, “He quit again. It was set for him to win it.” Even social media came alive with similar talk, but former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has now joined the conversation. 

“Young Daniel did his best against one of the greatest champions that’s ever been, and it wasn’t good enough. He came up short. He got put down twice. What do you want him to do? Die in the ring,” Fury said in his emotional message to Dubois while addressing the ‘quitting’ allegations. Suggesting Dubois was never in a position to win the fight, “He’s better off getting out of there.” ‘The Gypsy King’ even claimed that boxing is full of “jealousy” because Dubois was making a lot of money from the fight. Reports suggest Dubois made $71.22 million (£52.95 million) from the $203.5 million (£151.3 million) combined purse. 

Regardless, Fury continued, “When you’re in that ring fighting world heavyweight champions, there [are] no cowards. So all the credit [goes] to Daniel. He worked his bollocks off from being eight years old and f**king won the world title and fought f**king Usyk for the undisputed.” The former WBC heavyweight champion urged Dubois to be proud of himself because his father’s proud of him, “everybody’s proud of you.” In the end, Fury even invited Dubois to train with him and ignore the critics, branding them “dream crushers and jealous bastards.”

Fury is defending Dubois, but fresh footage has come out that makes him seem bad.

Daniel Dubois was seen partying before the Oleksandr Usyk fight

Days after the fight, a new video of Daniel Dubois has emerged on social media, which shows the heavyweight partying hours before the Oleksandr Usyk fight at his Essex mansion. The footage shows Dubois being surrounded by about 70 guests, some of whom he didn’t even know. Music blared in the background as people chanted “and the new.” 

Because of this party, allegedly arranged by his father, Stan Dubois, the heavyweight arrived at the venue 90 minutes before his ringwalk. To make matters worse, Stan reportedly arranged additional vehicles for their entourage, delaying his arrival. Reacting to this debacle, Joseph Parker, who was supposed to fight Dubois, but the fight got canceled, told TalkSport, “That is insanely disruptive. I’m very surprised, I’m shocked… You need rest, you need to chill, you need to get in the zone.”

From the looks of things, Daniel Dubois has found himself in the middle of criticism for more than one reason. However, Tyson Fury doesn’t seem to be blaming Dubois for the loss. Did the pre-fight partying result in Dubois’ loss?