Daniel Dubois has had a rollercoaster career already but is now eyeing up a second challenge for heavyweight gold, and he has revealed that Eddie Hearn has been a motivating factor for the youngster, as he sets out to prove the Matchroom promoter wrong.
Dubois famously took a knee in his fight with Joe Joyce for the British title in 2021, a moment which caused controversy at the time but also one that could have proven to be an extremely wise one upon reflection, with the fractured orbital bone recovering without lasting damage.
During the aftermath, Hearn declared how it would be ‘very difficult to come back’ from the injury and added his opinion that a ‘mentally weak’ Dubois was not suitably prepared for such a gruelling encounter at his young age – a result of poor matchmaking up until that point in his eyes.
However, since then Dubois has risen to the peak of the division once again and gave a tremendous account of himself in a unified title bid against Oleksandr Usyk back in August, regardless of the fact that many fans felt he was overmatched, and arguably won that fight.
Again, ‘Triple D’ has bounced back from defeat and scored a career-best win on his last outing against Jarrell Miller back in December, securing a dramatic final-second knockout over the previously undefeated American.
Now Dubois is poised for a second shot at the world title, as he gears up to face Matchroom’s Filip Hrgovic for what is expected to be the soon vacant IBF heavyweight title on the Queensberry versus Matchroom undercard on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol bill.
It would mean Dubois will have the chance to directly get in the way of Hearn bringing a heavyweight world title back to his promotion.
Speaking to Queensberry, Dubois admitted that the prospect of silencing one of his previous doubters is an added incentive in his fight.
“For sure [I want to prove Eddie Hearn wrong], you can put them all into a group – all of the naysayers. They’re all out there and when they see you they are all happy and everything but when you are gone or you are not doing so well, they are quick to write you off and talk s**t about you.
He has said many things hasn’t he, he said before the fight with [Jarrell] ‘Big Baby’ Miller that if I lose my career is over and s**t like that, and you’ve really got to think about [when you say] that, you know. I wish I was fighting him!”
Hrgovic-Dubois in one of the stand-out clashes on the mammoth Beterbiev-Bivol card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that goes ahead on June 1st.
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