‘I was scared sparring Daniel Dubois - I tried to call it off midway through'
John Hedges has recalled a sparring session with Daniel Dubois that left him fearing he had to 'call off' the remainder of the session after a freak accident
John Hedges has opened up about a heart-stopping moment during a sparring session with heavyweight Daniel Dubois. The 22-year-old undefeated cruiserweight was honing his skills alongside 'DDD' at Newlands Boxing Gym under the tutelage of boxing legend Jimmy Tibbs when the incident occurred.
Speaking to Boxing Social before Dubois' anticipated clash with Anthony Joshua, Hedges confessed: "Me and him got on really well to be honest with you - we trained together for about three months. We were training down at Newlands at the time, still under the Tibbs banner and it was just one of them things.
"It's a freak accident. Sometimes, being scared - and I'll be honest with you, I was scared - I'm trying to defend myself and he's a big man. Believe it or not, even if you duck to hit him his head's still there. He's got a big head on him and Joshua will know that when he gets in the ring with him.
Related articles
"But I accidentally hit him on the way out to defend myself and I had to try and call the spar off but it carried on. I was going 'Daniel please, I didn't mean to, no malice in it' but it's one of them ones." The two were body-sparring at the time of the incident - a practice which aims to minimise damage by prohibiting head strikes.
And despite what could've sparked a furore, Dubois maintained his composure and continued with the training session without issue, reports the Mirror. Hedges added: "It's boxing and Daniel's a gentleman, he's a very good man. And it was nice just to get the rounds in - I just wanted the experience. I think I was a super-middleweight at the time it's crazy."
Since entering the pro scene in 2020, Hedges has impressively compiled an unbeaten 10-0 streak, featuring three finishes. As for Dubois, he's about to face a monumental challenge as he prepares to go glove-to-glove with AJ this weekend.
At the age of 27, DDD flaunts a formidable record of 21-2, with a jaw-dropping 20 knockouts to his name, having only been defeated by Joe Joyce and the reigning undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. The IFB heavyweight belt will be at stake when Dubois steps into the ring at Wembley, with aspirations of securing another clash with Usyk to vie for all the titles.
Joshua, now 34, holds a commendable career record of 28-3 since his professional debut in 2013. A former holder of the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles, AJ is also eyeing a path back to the peak against Usyk after he first surrendered his titles to the unbeaten Ukrainian in 2021 and then failed to retrieve them in their 2022 rematch.
