Daniel Dubois, the Greenwich heavyweight who became a two-time world champion

Daniel Dubois was knocked out of world-title contention more than once and came back each time. The heavyweight from Greenwich, south-east London, recovered from a broken eye socket and two defeats by Oleksandr Usyk. Along the way he knocked out Anthony Joshua in front of a record Wembley crowd, and in 2026 he won and then defended the WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley.

A Greenwich Boyhood and the Peacock Gym

Daniel Dubois was born on 6 September 1997 in Greenwich, London. His father, Stanley, is from Grenada and his mother is from Nigeria. Boxing runs through the family: his younger sister, Caroline Dubois, also turned professional and went on to win a world title at lightweight.

According to Wikipedia's account of his early life, Stanley took Daniel to a boxing gym at the age of nine, partly to keep him away from trouble on the streets of south London. He developed at the Peacock Gym in Canning Town under Tony and Martin Bowers.

An Amateur Pedigree Cut Short by Ambition

Dubois had roughly 75 amateur bouts. He won two English schoolboy titles, two junior ABA championships and further youth honours. He then spent about 18 months in the GB elite programme in Sheffield, represented England around a dozen times and won tournament gold in Finland and Germany.

He was in line for the Great Britain squad aiming at the Tokyo Olympics, but he chose to turn professional instead, a move that made him ineligible for the Games. In January 2017 he signed with promoter Frank Warren, and Warren's Queensberry Promotions has guided his career ever since.

The Rise of Dynamite

His professional debut, on 8 April 2017 at the Manchester Arena, lasted 35 seconds before Marcus Kelly was stopped. That set the pattern for the next three years. Fighting as "Dynamite", Dubois worked through the domestic and regional belts at speed: the Southern Area title against AJ Carter, the English title against Tom Little, and then a run of vacant WBO regional straps against Răzvan Cojanu and Richard Lartey in 2019.

Only one early opponent, Kevin Johnson, lasted the distance with him, losing a ten-round decision in October 2018. In July 2019 Dubois stopped Nathan Gorman in five rounds to win the British title. He added the Commonwealth belt against Ebenezer Tetteh that September and a WBC Silver title against Kyotaro Fujimoto that December.

The Joe Joyce Defeat and a Broken Eye Socket

On 28 November 2020 Dubois met fellow Londoner Joe Joyce in a domestic showdown between two unbeaten heavyweights. His British and Commonwealth titles were at stake, along with the vacant European belt. Joyce aimed his jab repeatedly at Dubois's left eye, and it swelled badly over the rounds. In the tenth round, after another jab landed, Dubois went down on one knee and was counted out.

Some ringside critics accused him of quitting. The next day Frank Warren confirmed, as Sky Sports reported, that Dubois had a fractured orbital bone and nerve damage around the eye, and most of that criticism faded once the injury was known. Wikipedia notes that the judges' scorecards were split at the time of the stoppage. Dubois was out of the ring for about six months.

Rebuilding to the WBA Regular Title

Dubois returned in June 2021 under trainer Shane McGuigan and knocked out Bogdan Dinu in two rounds for the WBA interim belt. A first-round stoppage of Joe Cusumano in Cleveland introduced him to American audiences. In June 2022 in Miami he knocked out Trevor Bryan in the fourth round to win the WBA "regular" heavyweight title, a secondary version of the championship.

He defended it that December against South Africa's Kevin Lerena, stopping him in the third round, although Wikipedia notes he was reported to have torn a knee ligament around that fight.

Usyk in Poland and a Disputed Fifth Round

On 26 August 2023 Dubois challenged Oleksandr Usyk for the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles in Poland. Wikipedia places the fight in Wrocław, while an Al Jazeera report from 2025 says Kraków. In the fifth round Usyk went down from a Dubois punch to the body. The referee ruled it a low blow and allowed the champion a long recovery period, a decision that remains controversial. Usyk took control from there and stopped the challenger in the ninth round.

Miller, Hrgovic and the IBF Belt

Now trained by Don Charles, Dubois rebuilt in Saudi Arabia. In December 2023 in Riyadh he stopped the American Jarrell Miller in the tenth round. On 1 June 2024 at the Kingdom Arena he faced Filip Hrgović of Croatia for the IBF interim title and went in as the underdog. He wore Hrgović down over the middle rounds. With Hrgović bleeding from cuts over both eyes, referee John Latham stopped the fight on the ringside doctor's advice 57 seconds into the eighth round, Sky Sports reported.

Usyk then gave up the IBF title because his rematch with Tyson Fury meant he could not make a mandatory defence. Dubois was elevated to full IBF heavyweight champion.

Knocking Out Anthony Joshua at Wembley

His first defence, on 21 September 2024 at Wembley Stadium, was against Anthony Joshua, a two-time world heavyweight champion who was seeking a third reign. Joshua was the betting favourite. Dubois dropped him with a right hand in the opening round and knocked him down again in the third. In the fourth, a left hook toppled Joshua, but the referee did not rule it a knockdown. Early in the fifth, a counter right put Joshua down for the count.

Reports differed on the attendance, with figures of 96,000 and 98,000 both quoted, and the crowd was described as a record. The British Boxing Board of Control later named Dubois its Boxer of the Year for 2024.

The Usyk Rematch at Wembley

A planned defence against Joseph Parker in February 2025 fell through when Dubois became ill, and the rematch with Usyk was set instead. On 19 July 2025 Dubois returned to Wembley to defend the IBF title against Usyk, who held the other three major belts. This time the Ukrainian controlled the early rounds and finished the fight in the fifth. He put Dubois down, then ended it with a left hand at 1:52 of the round. Accounts disagree on whether there were one or two knockdowns. Usyk left as undisputed champion again.

A period of change followed. In August 2025 Dubois split from Don Charles and named Tony Sims as his trainer, before returning to Charles in January 2026. He also withdrew from a planned IBF final eliminator against Frank Sánchez in late 2025.

Two Wars With Fabio Wardley

After ten months out of the ring, Dubois challenged Fabio Wardley for the WBO heavyweight title at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester on 9 May 2026. Wardley had been elevated to WBO champion after Usyk vacated the belt and was making his first defence. Dubois was knocked down twice, the first time within the opening ten seconds, but he kept coming forward. By the eleventh round Wardley was bleeding heavily from the nose and his right eye was nearly closed. Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight early in that round, the first defeat of Wardley's career and a second world heavyweight title for Dubois.

Wardley used a rematch clause, and the rematch at The O2 in London on 17 October 2026 was far quicker. Dubois hurt Wardley with a straight right in the opening seconds and kept punishing him in the second round until Wardley's corner threw in the towel. Al Jazeera's Reuters report quotes Dubois on the contrast with the first fight: "Our back was against the wall the first time." Filip Hrgović, by then the IBF champion, was at ringside and called for a unification rematch.

Professional Record and Titles Won

As reported after the Wardley rematch on 17 October 2026, Dubois's professional record stands at 24 wins and 3 losses with no draws, from 27 fights. Wikipedia lists 23 of those wins by knockout or stoppage, with Kevin Johnson the only opponent to take him the distance. All three losses came inside the distance: against Joe Joyce in 2020 and against Oleksandr Usyk in 2023 and 2025.

Major titles won: WBO heavyweight world title (2026, defended once), IBF heavyweight world title (2024, elevated from interim), IBF interim title (2024), WBA regular heavyweight title (2022), WBA interim title (2021), British and Commonwealth titles (2019), WBC Silver title (2019) and WBO International title (2019). Earlier belts include the English, Southern Area, WBO European and WBO Global titles.

Sources

• Daniel Dubois, Wikipedia, accessed 14 November 2026
• Daniel Dubois sustains fractured eye socket in loss to Joe Joyce, Sky Sports, 29 November 2020
• Daniel Dubois stops Filip Hrgovic to set up potential Anthony Joshua clash, Sky Sports, 2 June 2024
• Dubois stuns Joshua with shock knockout, Sky Sports (John Dennen), 22 September 2024
• Usyk knocks out Dubois to become undisputed heavyweight champion, Al Jazeera, 19 July 2025
• Dubois stops Wardley in 11th round to take WBO heavyweight boxing title, Al Jazeera / Reuters, 10 May 2026
• Daniel Dubois defeats Fabio Wardley to retain WBO heavyweight boxing title, Al Jazeera / Reuters, 18 October 2026