Dubois’ Father Called Boxing Expert: “It Was an Angry Phone Call”

Former world champion and now boxing analyst Johnny Nelson revealed that he received a call from Stanley Dubois, the father of ex-world champion Daniel Dubois.

“This week I spoke to Stan Dubois. He called me quite late, and we talked on the phone for about half an hour. He told me his side, I told him mine. I understand where he’s coming from. I don’t know Stanley personally. It was about my comments regarding his actions during Daniel’s preparations for the fights against Usyk and AJ.

I called them idiotic, and I’ll stand by that no matter what. I think Stanley felt like I was personally attacking him. I wasn’t. I was criticizing a decision. We had an angry conversation — I think he was surprised that I could be just as sharp as he was. But after about thirty minutes, we both calmed down. I told him, ‘You know what, Stan, I’ll come over, we’ll sit down and have a coffee.’

He’s a decent man. A father finding his way in the boxing world — and the boxing world can be brutal. You get applause, but you also get booed. You have to handle both. If you’re not used to it, it breaks your heart. Many people struggle with that, and Stan’s no different. I’ve said before — he’s clearly doing something right, raising such talented fighters. He’s got another one coming up too.

So, he’s done a great job as a father. He made a foolish decision, and I think he knows that. So, Stan — apologies if you thought I made it personal,” Nelson said.

Earlier, when Nelson learned that Stanley had organized a party for his son just before the rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, he called him “an idiot.”