Dubois claims Billy Joe Saunders may learn ‘life lesson’ after his ‘quitter’ jibe came back to bite him in Canelo loss
DANIEL DUBOIS reckons Billy Joe Saunders has learned a harsh lesson after suffering the same skull shattering injury he bullied him over.
The 23-year-old boxed six rounds with a fractured eye socket against Joe Joyce in November before taking a knee and being counted out.
Saunders, 31, was one of a handful of current and former pros who bundled in to slam the softly-spoken heavyweight and never apologised.
So, on Saturday night when the Traveller suffered an almost identical injury from a Canelo uppercut, fight fans were quick to pick out the old comments allowing Dubois to take the high ground.
“It's amazing how life works,” the former British champ said. “I thought Billy did well and it was a good fight up until that point.
";He was making it awkward and then the punch happened and Mark had to stop the fight.
“I had to f****** go through that one didn't I?
“He made his decision really quickly but I'm not going to rub it in for Billy.
“He will be going through it now with the eye injury and how the fight ended.
“Maybe he will regret what he said about me, maybe this might teach him something. It could be a life lesson.”
Incredibly for a young fighter who faced such stinging criticism, Dubois refused to enjoy Saunders’ demise.
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And he believes all fighters who risk their lives with every training session have the right to question the hearts of their rivals.
“Fighters are in their right to say things like that,” he said. “They go in and put their lives on the line, it's within their right to say things like that.
“Fighters can say what they want, sometimes it can make a fight interesting or make a story around a fight interesting, if we are fighting each other.
“If they want to call me a quitter or whatever, it is what it is.
“Everyone is going to have their own mindset and opinion, we may not see it in the same way.
"Fighters, in my opinion, have a pass to say these things. They are the entertainers.”
Dubois switched trainers after the defeat and moved to Mark Tibbs, who took the decision to pull Saunders out in Texas when he said he could not see.
Trainer and new fighter are yet to work together as the respected cornerman has been away with Saunders' three-month camp.
And Dubois insists if Saunders bounces back from his first defeat in 31 fights, he will have no problem sharing a gym with him as the best of enemies.
“Any loss, stoppage or whatever is going tobe a depressing thing,” DDD said. “I've heard the injury is bad. Will he come back? We will see but I'm sure he can.
“We might bond over it, fighters can get along together. Best of enemies and all that, look at David Haye and Derek Chisora who boxed each other and are now working together.
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“This business is interesting and things like that can happen.”