It was about a year ago that a crestfallen Daniel Dubois was being consoled by Oleksandr Usyk after his defeat against him. Approaching Dubois in the corner, Usyk had a few motivating words for him — “It’s not bad. It’s boxing, it’s not ballet, it’s not dancing. Daniel, you young, you can, you can dream. Man, dude, relax. It’s boxing, it’s tough sport, brother.” Fast forward a year later, Dubois’ “dream” of becoming a champion was realized after Usyk vacated the IBF belt. But he still had to prove that he was a worthy champion by defending his title against the two-time former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on September 21 in front of the packed Wembley stadium. And now, a new member of the Daniel Dubois hype train is the legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.

Dubois lived up to the test spectacularly as he dominated Joshua throughout the fight, knocking him down four times, and eventually stopping the fight in the fifth round by putting him flat on the canvas. Joshua’s shocking defeat stunned the boxing fans, and they waxed lyrical about Dubois for his performance.

In a recent interview, Mike Tyson’s ex-coach stated that he was stunned by the warrior spirit that Dubois displayed in his boxing career right up to his knockout victory against Joshua. Likening Dubois’ progress so far in his career as a hero’s journey, Atlas said, via Submission Radio, “It was like reading a chapter to a great novel where you got to the finish, what all great novels bring you- struggle- and then you go through redemption uh, then you get to victory.” Indeed there was a lot of struggle’ in Dubois’ boxing journey, and many boxing commentators doubted if he had the ingredients to become a champion following the two losses on his record against Joe Joyce and Usyk.

“He had done something that when fighters do it, they usually don’t have a career anymore. You know, he against Joyce… he broke down, mentally, gave in, submitted. Whatever you want to call it. And then against Usyk, there was a low blow and all that stuff, but at the end of the day um, he broke down. He didn’t get to the finish line. He did what a fighter shouldn’t do, he gave in,” Atlas stated, highlighting Dubois’ weakness.

Notably, in his fight against Joe Joyce in 2020, the Greenwich native took a knee in the center ring, and quit in the tenth round, after his left eye shut due to the damage inflicted by Joyce. However, following his loss against Usyk last year, Atlas pointed out that Dubois was in two full-scale brawls against Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovich where he was able to overcome adversity and become victorious. For Atlas, that was the sign that the tide was changing and Dubois was proving himself to be championship material.

“I’ve been in the business 50 years. For me, fighting means overcoming. I’ve often said that a fight is not a real fight until there is something to overcome, otherwise, it’s just an exhibition of your talents. It’s a, you know athletic exhibition,” Atlas remarked. Safe to say, for Atlas, Dubois showed that apart from being a talented boxer, he also embodied the spirit of a warrior which separated him from the rest of his peers.

At the same time, there were also critical mistakes in Joshua’s fight strategy that almost gifted the fight to Dubois. In an interview with the BBC, Joshua gave a detailed analysis of what went wrong in the fight.

The first round set the tone!

AJ admitted that he made critical mistakes in the fight in his interview with boxing commentator Steve Bunce. Explaining the errors that led to his knockdown in the first round, he said, “The first round? Overhand right. Chin in the air. No defense! Kaboom. It was a bit of a downhill slope from there. Tried to change the tide. But, it weren’t my night.”

Joshua admitted that he was in “survival mode” following the first round. However, Joshua did have a chance to redeem himself in the fifth. He was starting to gain momentum and landed a few shots flush on Dubois’ chin, but his next move proved costly.“Yeah,  I caught him with a good shot, I think. And then I tried to go for it. And then I got caught with an overhand right when I was throwing the uppercut,” Joshua recalled.

Pointing out more lapses in his game, he stated that he wasn’t “setting shots up” and the shots that did land weren’t “sniper-esque.” Nevertheless, he made it clear that he won’t be retiring soon after the shocking loss like many expect him to. “We are gladiators. We had a bad night at the office. People want to see me fight, I’ll fight. I’ll fight that’s it,” Anthony Joshua stated.

Nevertheless, what do you think of Daniel Dubois’ performance against Joshua? Moreover, just like Atlas, do you feel that Dubois has the warrior spirit to remain a champion for a long time? Let us know in the comment section below.