Daniel Dubois’ entire life has been geared towards becoming the heavyweight champion of the world. 

Still, despite the tens of thousands of hours he has spent working on his craft and the highlight reel of spectacular knockouts he has compiled since he turned professional as an 18-year-old prodigy, Dubois’ boxing life is currently defined by two, split-second decisions.

Back in 2020, the pain of a badly damaged eye socket became too much for Dubois to bear and he elected to take a knee during the 10th round of his fight with Joe Joyce. 

Fast forward three years and Dubois - by fair means or foul - had unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in trouble. As he stood in a neutral corner watching Usyk attempt to compose himself after taking a heavy shot somewhere between the bladder and belly button, Dubois somehow seemed to think himself out of pressing home his advantage and allowed the opportunity of a lifetime to slip away. Four rounds later he once again found himself on a knee and, once again, allowed himself to be counted out. 

Dubois’ age and explosive power kept him in the heavyweight mix and, last December, he was matched with trash-talking American, Jarrell Miller, on the massive Day of Reckoning card in Riyadh.  

Dubois got off to a quick start but during the middle rounds it looked like the massive New Yorker’s unique brand of physical and mental pressure was beginning to take its toll. 

The Londoner had another career defining decision to make. This time, he decided to fight through the self-doubt and fatigue and stopped Miller in the final round. 

The victory earned Dubois another trip to Saudi Arabia and he will fight Filip Hrgovic on June 1st.

Beating Miller didn’t completely alter the perception that many in boxing hold about Dubois. Neither should it - Dubois is younger, fitter and much better technically than ‘Big Baby’ - but, crucially, the 26-year-old proved something to himself.

“It ain’t changed me but it’s brought out something that was trapped in me. I got to show a little bit of it that night. Now I need to bring out more of it in this fight and get better and better each and every time. Prove all the naysayers wrong and keep doing what I do,” Dubois told Queensberry.

“You can put them all into a group, all the naysayers. When they see you they’re all happy but when you’re not doing so well, they’re quick to right you off and talk shit about you. It’s all good to remember. It’s just life in general. You have these moments in life with people you meet. You’ve got to quickly wise up and realise what’s really going on.”

Dubois will need his newfound mental strength if he is to get past the undefeated Hrgovic. The 31-year-old is a naturally confident character and has been emboldened further by the memory of some early career sparring sessions when it seems to be widely accepted that he got the better of a green Dubois.

Hrgovic may feel like he knows exactly what to expect when he turns up in Saudi Arabia but if Dubois can bolster his undoubted physical gifts with a new degree of self-belief, the talented Croatian may just end up being the one asking himself some tough questions. 

“I’ve heard in interviews him talking about our spars but I remember before my fight with Nathan Gorman, he was talking about spars as well and he ended up on his back,” Dubois said.

“He’s up there isn’t he? He’s very well ranked. He’s a player in the game so let’s go through him.

“On paper it’s a massive challenge but I feel in myself like I can make it as hard as I want it to be. It’s down to me to keep performing, do the right things in training, make sure I stay on it and go through him like a hot knife through butter.”