'Shrinking violet' who became a star - is this Dubois' crowning moment?

A naive and bewildered Daniel Dubois turned to his begetter for enactment erstwhile asked to stock his dreams and aspirations.

The teen was giving his archetypal interrogation to Queensberry Promotions aft joining Frank Warren's stable.

Dubois' timid demeanour conflicted with his imposing 6ft 4in muscular figure.

He was the home-schooled introvert who could implicit 5 hours of push-ups a time from the property of 5 - and determination was small clip for relationship oregon socialising.

So erstwhile Dubois hurtled into the limelight of pro boxing aged 19, it was precise overmuch a lawsuit of lad meets world.

Seven years later, though, Dubois has transformed from a sheepish, sometimes voiceless, quality to a combatant demanding respect.

"You don't intimidate me. Who bash you deliberation you are?" helium barked astatine Anthony Joshua during a behind-doors face-off.

On Saturday, successful beforehand of a post-war British boxing grounds assemblage of 96,000, Dubois continues his boxing travel successful a world-title defence against compatriot Joshua astatine Wembley Stadium.

"I ever thought he'd beryllium a aboriginal champion, but I've truly seen him alteration from that shrinking violet who archetypal stepped into my office," Warren reflects.

BBC Sport speaks to members of the boxing fraternity with first-hand accounts of Dubois' ascent from a shy imaginable to the highest of the heavyweight division.

Dubois is simply a postgraduate of the literal schoolhouse of hard knocks.

His father, a marketplace trader from Camden, drilled boxing grooming into him and sister Caroline, the undefeated lightweight star, successful their formative years.

"I was their system. I was their schoolhouse teacher. I was their leader," Stan Dubois - who besides goes by the sanction Dave - told Seconds Out successful a uncommon interview.

Stan was hell-bent connected fast-tracking his son's progression arsenic helium hopped betwixt respective London amateur clubs, with stints astatine Repton, Dale Youth, Lynn, West Ham, Fisher and Islington.

Dubois Sr's ruthlessness, however, was not without its critics.

"Daniel was a genuine boy. He tried hard and listened a lot, though helium utilized to perceive to his dada a batch arsenic well," says erstwhile Dale Youth caput manager Mick Delaney.

Delaney recalls Stan taking a 16-year-old Dubois to spar with nonrecreational Derek Chisora, 14 years his senior, alternatively of a pre-planned sparring session.

"I said 'this is simply a joke, you're conscionable a kid, those pros volition beryllium putting it connected you'," Delaney added.

"We got that sorted and I besides told the dada if helium insists connected coming to the gym past helium has to beryllium successful the back."

But conscionable arsenic Delaney was preparing Dubois for a elder championships, helium received a telephone from Dubois' parent saying her lad had switched gyms.

While reports of acrimony with trainers person continued into his nonrecreational career, Dubois divided with Shane McGuigan past year.

Stan's quality to motivate his son, erstwhile immoderate others cannot, inactive forms a large portion of his occurrence today.

In Don Charles, Dubois appears to person recovered a caput trainer consenting to accommodate – and adjacent invited - his father's influence.

With Dubois nether the cosh successful the 4th circular of his battle with Jarrell Miller successful December, Warren summoned Stan.

"I person ne'er done thing similar that before," Warren says. "The dada fundamentally relayed Don's instructions and, suddenly, Daniel was up and running.

"Don is an fantabulous trainer but besides precise pragmatic and understood. That's the dependable Daniel listens to, truthful it was conscionable communal consciousness to transmission everything done the dad."

When successful June helium beat Filip Hrgovic to triumph the interim IBF title, Dubois mouthed "we did it, Dad".

Charles has not been seen astatine combat week, starring to rumours of a rift, but Dubois insists helium is inactive portion of his team.

Dubois' boxing prowess has been wide from a young age.

As portion of the England amateur set-up, helium was sparring with the likes of Joshua, Joe Joyce and Frazer Clarke.

"I couldn't judge it," Clarke says. "His punch powerfulness for a kid who was astir 17 was phenomenal."

A scintillating commencement to his pro vocation yielded 14 stoppages successful 15 fights. Dubois was heralded arsenic the aboriginal of the division.

But helium soon experienced the fickleness of pro pugilism successful a important step-up.

Dubois suffered a breached oculus socket during his loss to Joe Joyce successful 2020, having taken a genu and missed the count.

"People called him a coward and quitter, and that conscionable wasn't true," Warren says.

Dubois faced the aforesaid disapproval erstwhile helium was stopped by Oleksandr Usyk successful his archetypal satellite rubric situation past year.

But Dubois is not overly progressive connected societal media and was to immoderate grade shielded from the negativity, and the displacement from praise to condemnation besides means the load and unit of being Britain's adjacent heavyweight anticipation had eased.

Warren asked Dubois to "grit his teeth" successful pugnacious battles and helium seems to person listened.

He did not buckle nether unit from Miller and shrugged disconnected immense close hands from Hrgovic, winning some important fights wrong the distance.

Dubois' squad enactment small accent connected processing his representation aboriginal on; helium made much sound with his fists.

The Greenwich-born boxer was assigned the nickname 'Dangerous' by his promoters earlier his debut successful 2017 but Queensberry's Dev Sahni was successful for a astonishment erstwhile helium visited Dubois' changing room.

"I glanced astatine his shorts and it work 'Dynamite'," Sahni says.

"All the posters and everything with his nickname had gone retired but thankfully 'Triple D' inactive worked."

Dubois has since go amended acquainted with the showmanship of boxing.

While the trash speech inactive does not ever travel naturally, with nary amended illustration than Thursday's quality conference, determination appears to beryllium a deliberate effort to showcase his personality.

He promised to "punch holes" successful the brash Miller and is the self-proclaimed "king-slayer" against Joshua.

Warren is "continuously surprised" by Dubois' maturation and says determination is inactive plentifulness to travel arsenic the champion prepares for his biggest test, connected the biggest imaginable stage, connected Saturday.

"Tyson Fury and AJ aren't getting immoderate younger. Daniel has shown successful his past mates of fights however bare and adaptable helium is," Warren says.

"This truly is simply a young man's crippled and, triumph oregon lose, I expect Daniel to beryllium the aboriginal of the division."