The road up to it is bumpy, a lone digger enjoying little success in its attempts to re-lay the surface.
There are chickens and sheep to the left, an assault course temporarily taken over by geese to the right, and two horses in an open field beyond that.
This gravelly track leads not to Noah’s Ark but to Daniel’s barn, inside which a poster on the wall confirms the primary resident: “Dynamite Daniel Dubois IBF heavyweight world champion.”
The ring below and the long sandpit running alongside it, used for barefoot shadow-boxing sessions, have provided the foundations for Dubois’ world-title defence against Joseph Parker on Saturday night.
Within sight of the Borehamwood base is the Wembley arch and a regular reminder of the finest night of Dubois’ career.
The 27-year-old delivered a devastating fifth-round stoppage of Anthony Joshua in front of 96,000 fans in September.
Questions were raised ahead of the fight as to how Dubois would deal with the pressure and added distractions that come with a bout of that magnitude.
Fireworks were launched into the Wembley sky to accompany the lengthy ring walks, as nearly five minutes passed between Michael Buffer announcing his name and Dubois finally stepping between the ropes.
“It was like walking through the park,” Dubois tells Standard Sport. “I didn’t feel any pressure, nothing. It’s where I’m meant to be.
“They were all there to watch my crowning moment, the prophecy my dad has spoken about since I was a little boy. Nothing daunting for me.
“That will always be in the history books. It was a good rough old fight, me and AJ going at it. No surprises. I just want to improve now, I need to keep getting better.”
Dubois sent Joshua crashing to the canvas in the first round and then three more times in a stunning display of brutal power before the referee stepped in to wave the fight off.
There is a new-found confidence to Dubois in and out of the ring, but he is still not naturally drawn to the limelight and a family holiday to Brazil helped escape the intensity of the attention on him.
“Everyone wanted to speak to me - to be honest I had to hide away for a bit,” Dubois says.
There have been no unwanted distractions in the build-up to the Riyadh showdown with Parker.
Dubois has switched to an old-school flip phone for the duration of his camp, used only for calls.
Parker was WBO world champion until his defeat to Joshua in 2018 but is now in the best form of his career, coming into this fight off the back of impressive wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. Dubois, though, insists Parker does not present a tougher test than Joshua.
“That’s my opinion, I feel that based on AJ’s power and all of that,” he explains. “But I’ll make it an easier fight, that’s all I’ll say. I’ve got to perform properly. Go out there and unleash havoc on him. I’ll do what I’ve always done, do it well and get that win.”
Ready to rule
Dubois’ run of statement wins against Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Joshua has come at an opportune time, as the heavyweight division undergoes somewhat of a changing of the guard.
Oleksandr Usyk says he has only two fights left, Joshua will turn 36 later this year, Deontay Wilder is a shadow of his former self and Tyson Fury announced last month - not for the first time - that he has retired.
Dubois interrupts. “I don’t read too much into that. Fury always retires. How many times has he retired already? He’ll probably be back.”
Is that a fight he still hopes to have then? “We can get it on,” Dubois replies with a shrug.
Whether Fury stays away or not, the pool of household names to challenge for Dubois’ world title is not as significant as it would have been three years ago. British heavyweights Fabio Wardley and Moses Itauma are among those on the path to challenge for the division’s biggest prizes, but are to differing degrees still in the building phase of their careers.
Dubois is reluctant to discuss his potential rivals of the future - “I’m in my own lane” - but he must feel there is an opportunity to become the dominant heavyweight force over the next few years.
“Well I’m dominating right now,” Dubois responds. “Every fight that I have. This is my era now. This is it, this is what I’ll be remembered for. It’s on right now. The awards, the legacy that you leave after you finish the sport. All of that.”
What does he want that legacy to be? “World champion. A guy that made it to the end, who endured and finally got there.”
Dubois feasibly has another decade at the top level, but he has already ridden the sport’s rollercoaster. He was accused of quitting when taking a knee to lose against Joe Joyce in 2020, having suffered a fractured eye socket.
Two years later, Dubois was knocked down three times in the opening round against Kevin Lerena in which he tore his ACL, in what was an unexpectedly dramatic win, before jumping straight into a world-title bout against Usyk, when he again watched from a kneeled position as the referee’s count reached ten.
Dubois pauses when asked what the toughest moment of his career has been, whether it be the setbacks of defeats or the questioning of his mentality.
“It’s the enduring, the journey,” Dubois says. “It’s not just about the moments, those are part of the journey and the bigger picture. Every moment that I’ve had along the way has been a lesson that I’ve learnt from. It’s in my memory now and I’m thankful for everything.”
Gruelling stoppage victories over Miller and Hrgovic helped elevate Dubois back to a place among the division’s elite and, having dispatched Joshua, he is now eyeing the seat at the head of that particular table.
Usyk has indicated his next fight this year will be against the winner of Dubois’ bout with Parker, offering the added incentive for both that a shot at being undisputed champion is just one victory away.
Undisputed ambition
Dubois was keen to force the issue before Christmas, jumping in the ring after Usyk’s win over Fury and grabbing the microphone to demand a shot at “revenge”, even though his bout against Parker had already been announced.
The New Zealander has previous when it comes to ripping up the script, too, with his win over Wilder at the end of 2023 scuppering plans for a long-awaited showdown between the American and Joshua.
Dubois insists it was his decision to interrupt Usyk’s post-fight interview, rather than a stunt encouraged by advisers, but it seemed at odds with his usual reserved demeanour.
“You’ve got to shout them out,” he explains. “This is what the sport is about. Making entertaining fights, calling other fighters out, otherwise it’s going to become boring. You need to show that you’re the young lion. That’s what having the belts allows you to do.”
It is not hard, though, to understand why Parker’s camp believe Dubois is overlooking him. “If they think that, that’s their problem,” Dubois says.
The defeat to Usyk was shrouded in controversy. The Ukrainian was dropped by a body shot that was deemed low and given almost four minutes to recover, as he went on to then stop Dubois in the ninth round.
An appeal from the Briton’s team, who insisted the shot was legal, was unsuccessful, but Dubois is adamant the script will be rewritten in the ring. “I’d win,” he says of a potential rematch.
“I’m a different fighter now, a more focused, more mature athlete. I’d get the job done. I’ve changed for sure.
“I knocked him…” Dubois stops himself. “Everyone can read into what happened. I’m here now, I’ve got the belt. Now I need to stamp my authority on the division and go out there like a champ.”
That night in Poland did not bring a world title but it evidently strengthened Dubois’ belief that Usyk can be hurt.
“For sure,” he says, rising to his feet and prowling forward, the thin air in front of him targeted with a combination as though Usyk has suddenly appeared. “I’m real confident of that, I’m on a different level now.”
Parker and Usyk are top of the agenda for Dubois, but the prospect of a surprise bout with Derek Chisora was also raised earlier this month.
The 41-year-old beat Otto Wallin and then named Dubois, Usyk and Joshua as the three potential opponents for the final fight of his career.
“I saw that,” Dubois says. “Would they make that happen? Would they fear for his health and all of that? You never know, maybe it could happen.”
Driven by Dad
In the early years of his career, Dubois declared that his younger brother Solomon, now 12, was the most gifted boxer in the family.
Since then, though, Dubois and sister Caroline have both become world champions, setting a fairly lofty bar to surely leave the family crown under new ownership.
Dubois’ face lights up. “It isn’t!” he laughs. “You should see him now, he’s on his way. He’s fighting in the schoolboy championships this year. He’s No1 in the country. It’s going well.”
Solomon, who joined Dubois for his ring walk ahead of the Joshua fight, must be incredibly proud of his brother.
“Yeah,” Dubois says, slightly sheepishly. “It’s all down to my dad and his hard work. The discipline and hard work that he put into me from being a young kid. It’s definitely down to that.”
Dave’s influence on his son is a story well-told, Dubois still bearing the scars on his knuckles from the daily routine of five hours of press-ups on clenched fists.
Dubois, like his siblings, was home-schooled, everything geared towards a relentless pursuit of boxing greatness.
Can Dubois see himself emulating the role his father played should he one day have children? “I want to, but carrying it out is another thing,” Dubois grins. “Can you stay dedicated like that for as long as my dad did? I think I can do it but let’s see.”
The focus for now is more singular, Dubois adamant his momentum can lead him to undisputed glory.
That opportunity must first be earned on Saturday, when simply securing a positive result far outweighs the need for another highlights-reel knockout.
“A win by any means necessary,” Dubois says. “I’m stuck on Parker and I’m ready for him. I’m ready to go out there and prove I’m the best.”
