Frank Warren: 'Dubois Became a Superstar in One Night'

The founder and head of Queensberry Promotions, Frank Warren, spoke exclusively to Ready to Fight, sharing his thoughts on his client, IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), and his victory over Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs).

"Dubois is a young guy, and people write and say what they do about him, often because he’s with me. For instance, Tony Bellew has criticized Daniel from the start and said some unpleasant things. Now he needs to bite his tongue a little and acknowledge what he saw today: a young man with great courage who went out there and did a fantastic job. He walked into the lion’s den.  

I said, 'Stay on the back foot — that's the key to victory,' and he did, because his jab is exceptional. His jab, specifically, was the key. Another thing I said — Daniel will probably get booed when he enters the ring. They’ll boo him, but they’ll applaud him when he leaves. It was an amazing performance, one of the best heavyweight displays we've seen. It was our version of Hagler vs. Hearns in the heavyweight division, especially in that last round.

How far can Dubois go after this performance? He became a superstar in one night. And now you heard it — the fans are on his side. When have you seen a fight with him that wasn’t exciting? Every fight, whether you like him or not, is thrilling. Every fight he’s in grabs you.

As for Joshua, it wasn’t his day, he just couldn’t get into the fight. Dubois was brilliant. What’s next for Anthony? That’s not for me to decide; it’s his call. I’ve been the one to say Derek Chisora should have retired two or three fights ago. I’ve already bitten my tongue on that, so I won’t say it again, and I don’t want to kick a man when he’s down. It takes two to make a spectacle, and Joshua was there, fighting until the end, so credit to him for that.

A new star has been born, and we, the British, are lucky with our heavyweights. Why doesn’t America have heavyweights like these? What’s going on? They’re all here," Warren stated.

To recap, on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London, UK, Daniel Dubois knocked out Anthony Joshua — scoring knockdowns in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds. After the final knockdown, Joshua couldn’t beat the count. KO 5.