Andy Newton
World heavyweight boxing champion Daniel Dubois was left red-faced over the weekend after missing the Epsom Derby when he accidentally travelled to the wrong racecourse – Ascot.
Daniel Dubois Mixes Up Epsom With Ascot And Misses Derby
The 28-year-old had been invited to Epsom Downs by his promoter, Frank Warren, with Queensbury Promotions overseeing the DerbyFest fan zone at the famous Surrey venue.
Dubois was expected to be one of the headline names in attendance for Britain’s biggest Flat race.
However, when the Derby got underway, Dubois was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, the heavyweight star was on his way to Ascot in Berkshire before realising he had made a costly mistake and travelled to the wrong racecourse altogether.
That left Dubois scrambling to turn around and head for Epsom. But, heavy traffic meant the boxing star missed the main event by the time he arrived.
Thankfully, he still managed to catch a couple of races and saw the funny side of the mix-up.
“We went all over the country to get to this place.” Dubois joked.
“It’s my first time at Epsom – at least I made it with a few races to go.”
The 2026 Epsom Derby result saw the Aidan O’Brien-trained Christmas Day give the record-breaking Irish trainer his twelfth win in the English Classic.
While the popular Royal Ascot meeting is scheduled for June 16th to 20th.
It’s not known if Dubois is attending Royal Ascot – if he is, maybe he’ll turn up at Epsom?
Despite Travel Mishap Dubois Remained in High Spirits
Despite his racecourse mishap, Dubois remained in high spirits following one of the biggest victories of his career.
The Londoner recently became a two-time world champion after defeating Fabio Wardley via an 11th-round stoppage in a dramatic contest. Having been knocked down twice during the fight.
Wardley has since activated the rematch clause in his contract and made it clear he intends to reclaim his title.
“The boxing world knows my character, and Saturday night proved that without a shred of doubt,” Wardley said.
“It was a fight for the ages. But I made some mistakes that I will rectify in the rematch. Congratulations to Daniel, but I’m coming for you and my belt.”
Dubois, though, insists he won’t be hanging around if his rival needs time to recover.
“Well, that’s what they’re talking about, but I’m not going to wait on no one,” Dubois said.
“I’m going to get busy with that belt, defend that belt, and I can’t wait to start improving, getting out there, and just maximizing what we’ve done. And what we’ve worked on since I was a little kid and now we’re here.
“I would maybe have preferred to fight someone else and travel with that belt. But if we’ve got to do it again, we’ll do it again.”
When Is The Next Daniel Dubois Fight?
Daniel Dubois was last seen in action on 9 May 2026, when he produced a stunning 11th-round stoppage victory over Fabio Wardley at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
That impressive success saw Dubois topple Wardley and lift the WBO World Heavyweight Championship.
Dubois Expected To Face Wardley In Rematch
Daniel Dubois will officially face Fabio Wardley in an immediate rematch after Wardley exercised the return-fight clause in their contract.
The decision follows their memorable showdown in Manchester. Where Dubois battled back from two early knockdowns before producing a stunning 11th-round stoppage victory to claim the WBO heavyweight world title.
With the Dubois vs Wardley fight expected to take place in late 2026.
