Boxing prospect John Hedges once begged Daniel Dubois to stop a sparring session after he was accidentally punched.
At cruiserweight, trainer Mark Tibbs’ gym, fighting was physical – meaning no punches to the face were allowed.
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But Hedges suffered a setback when one of his punches went too high and hit Dubois in the upper back.
Hedges, 22, said, Boxing Social“Honestly, he and I had a great relationship – we trained together for about three months.
“At the time we were training at Newlands, still under the Tibbs banner and it was just one of those things. It’s a freak accident.
“Sometimes, out of fear – and I’ll be honest, I was scared – I try to defend myself and he’s a big guy.
“Believe it or not, even if you lean in to hit him, his head will still be there. He has a huge head and Joshua will know that when he gets in the ring with him.
“But while stepping out to defend myself I accidentally hit him and I had to stop the spar, but it continued.
“I was saying, ‘Daniel please, I didn’t mean to do this, there’s no malice in it’ but it’s one of those things.”
Thankfully for Hedges, DuBois was feeling forgiving that day.
Joshua vs Dubois fight predictions
This weekend will see one of the greatest British battles ever staged at Wembley.
But who will emerge victorious under the leadership of this famous boxer? Some of boxing’s biggest names have had their say…
Oleksandr Usyk“My favourite is Anthony Joshua, but I’m really bad at making predictions. But I would predict Anthony Joshua.”
Dillion Whyte“I think it’s one of those fights where it’s really a 50/50 fight in my opinion.”
Joe Joyce: “I was initially going with Joshua but I don’t know, Dubois is coming forward.”
Frazer Clarke“As powerful as Dubois is and as good a fighter as he’s becoming, I’d still have to go for Joshua.”
Francis Ngannou: “Even though Joshua lost twice against Usyk and Dubois fought Usyk and almost knocked him out and almost won, I would still give this award to Joshua.”
Click here for more fight predictions for Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois
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Hedges, who boasts a 10-0 record, said: “This is boxing and Daniel is a gentleman, he’s a very nice guy.
“And it was good to get in the rounds – I just wanted the experience. I think I was a super-middleweight at the time, it’s crazy.”
Dubois, 27, will not be so forgiving when he defends his IBF title against Anthony Joshua, 34, at Wembley on Saturday night.
