Daniel Dubois speaks out
'Dynamite' Daniel Dubois (15-1, 14KOs) has spoken for the first time since the horror eye injury he received at the hands of Joe Joyce in their epic battle last November and what went through his head as he took a knee for the first time in his career.
Speaking exclusively to The Queensberry Lowdown, Presented by Unibet, Dubois reveals his new training team ahead of his return, reacts to people calling him a 'quitter' after being stopped by rival Joe Joyce in round 10 of their November fight last year, and explains the extent and lasting effect of that eye injury.
The 23-year-old said of his eye injury: "Waiting to get the doctors all clear report back then I'll know where I'm at. They told me that it should be five months or so and it's been about three months or something like that, just still waiting to see if they can see anything. The eye has come down, there's no vision problems."
On the pain he felt at the time of the injury: "The pain, you would have to feel it to know. At the time, at that point, when you're in the ring, there's many factors playing against you. Once that shot hit, I felt something in my eye, yeah I took the knee, once I felt it go in my eye, I didn't really even think about the fight, I forgot all about the fight, maybe an experience, panicking and other stuff… it just happened in that moment, then I got up and being counted out, it is what it is now just got to put it behind me. What I felt happening in my eye, it was just on that moment; I was a bit frantic, panicking, the rest is history. I'm not going to let this hold me back, I'm going to come forward and work on what I need to work on."
On the impact of that Joe Joyce defeat, he said: "It's a massive setback for me. I've had to take some positives and the negatives as well. I've taken it all on board. Right now I just want to vent my frustration out and get back into the gym and just get back on course and really start from fresh again, start from the basics, like I just turned pro."
On what went wrong: "A number of things went wrong. On the night, he had a sharper jab. The eye went, of course, and it was a nip and tuck fight. I'd love to have a revenge and have that clash again, but right now just got to take it all on board and move forward, ya know. Get back to my basics, my boxing, start from scratch."
On how many times he had watched the fight back: "Not many times, one is enough. It's a memory and it's a bad memory and I've got to use that."
On what he would do differently: "A number of things, I'd be a lot fitter, a lot more on it, just get on with it a lot quicker, be sharper, more on it than I was. I look back on it and there's a number of things I could have done better, from the beginning of the fight and just my whole approach and attitude and stuff like that but here we are."
On his new trainers: "I'm going to move forward with Mark Tibbs and Jimmy Tibbs as my trainer to help me forward with my career, that's what I need. I want a fresh start and I feel that the experience that Mark and Jimmy Tibbs can bring that can really help me on my way back and if they can show me some new things and impart some knowledge, because they both go way back into boxing, their roots are strong, they've been at that top level before, fighting at world title level with Billy Joe Saunders and Dillian Whyte, so I want to test myself, a fresh start, which is what I want. As a fighter, you only really get one crack at the whip so I want to go out there and do what's right for me."
On his next fight: "May/June, we'll have to see. I need to get back in the gym and when I'm back in the gym training with a trainer and sparring, getting rounds under my belt, then we'll know for sure when I'll be back. I'll be more disciplined than ever. I want to be in meaningful fights, good fights that are out there and I want to be a part of it and get back out there. As I said, I will be back, I'm coming back for sure, coming back with a vengeance and I look forward to it."
The Queensberry Lowdown with Daniel Dubois, presented by Unibet, is live now on the Queensberry Official YouTube Channel here
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