Heavyweight ‘Obliterated’ Daniel Dubois In Sparring Before ‘Breaking His Nose And Making Him Quit’
Daniel Dubois has a long line of top contenders looking for a shot at his IBF Heavyweight World Title.
The 27-year-old Brit was one of the division’s success stories in 2024, entering the year with a win over Jarrell Miller and building on that by defeating Filip Hrgovic for the interim belt. He was then upgraded to full champion when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title.
To legitimise his status as one of the best on the scene, Dubois knocked out Anthony Joshua in five rounds for his first defence.
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He now faces Joseph Parker on February 22 and then will likely be called to fight a mandatory challenger. That just may be one Martin Bakole, but trainer Billy Nelson told Seconds Out that the champ will avoid his charge due to a much-discussed past sparring session.
“Usyk will not fight Martin and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Daniel vacated rather than fight Martin as well. They’ve been in the ring with each other before. Martin will stop Usyk and he’ll obliterate Daniel Dubois.
Martin wasn’t fully fit when he sparred Daniel, about 70% fit, and schooled him. Stopped him, made him quit and broke his nose. It’s fact. Martin’s already told people what happened. I was there. Barry McGuigan was there. I’m not telling lies.
And he’s also stopped Usyk as he’s told you before, albeit I wasn’t there. But why would he come out publicly, live on Sky Sports, and say that he stopped Usyk if he didn’t? Either way, what a fantastic fight that would be. Usyk’s number one in the world for a reason.”
Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren strongly denies the broken nose claim.
Bakole – who has been criticised by some for revealing sparring details – scored a statement stoppage of rising star Jared Anderson in August. He has now been ordered to fight a final eliminator against Efe Ajagba to determine the number on contender for Dubois.
