On Tuesday, Daniel Dubois confirmed that Mark Tibbs will become his new head trainer and vowed to show his critics he is no quitter.
The Londoner was somewhat harshly criticized by some for taking a knee to receive a count in the 10th round of his 'battle of the unbeaten heavyweights' with Joe Joyce on Nov. 28. But with his left eye swollen completely shut and at risk of permanent damage, it was apparent that 'Dynamite' should not carry on much longer regardless.
The post-fight diagnosis was a broken left orbital bone and nerve damage around the eye. While it will now likely be Joyce who fights Oleksandr Usyk for the interim WBO title and perhaps eventually the full version of the bet, Dubois will at least be able to dust himself off and start again after a full recovery.
On the Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions YouTube channel , Dubois confirmed the news reported last week that previous trainer Martin Bowers would move into a more general management role on the team, making way for Mark and Jimmy Tibbs to oversee training.
"I felt the pain and what I felt happening in my eye," Dubois said as he opened up on the experience of his maiden professional loss. "I took a knee, and it discombobulated me a bit. I was a bit frantic, panicking.
"I took a knee, and the rest is history, but after all that, I'm not going to let this stop me, set me back, hold me back. I'm going to come forward and come through this and improve and work on what I need to work on."
Voluntarily conceding a fight carries a negative stigma in combat sports, even if the health of those involved is on the line. Nonetheless, Dubois believes his performances going forward will make those who aimed vitriol his way eat their words.
"When I come back, I want to see them same people, and I want to get in the ring with them and show them how much of a quitter I am," Dubois continued. "I'll come back hard and better than before and come back solid. Set things right, iron out my imperfections, and clear the path, really."
On when his next fight will take place, he commented: "I'm just waiting to get the doctor's all-clear report back, then I'll know where I'm at, then I'll know whether I can move forward or not.
"They told me that should be around five months or so. It's been about three months or something like that, and I'm still waiting just to see if they see anything. It's (swelling) come down and no vision problems or anything."