Daniel Dubois’ trainer Don Charles has dismissed reports that a party at the boxer’s home hours before his world heavyweight championship fight against Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley on Saturday night disrupted his preparation. Dubois was knocked out in the fifth round, and while Charles acknowledged that Dubois did not arrive at the arena until 8.20pm, 90 minutes before his scheduled ring walk, he insisted the team had ample time for all pre-fight procedures.
Charles described the gathering as a “cultural gathering” rather than a party, similar to one held before Dubois’ fight with Anthony Joshua in September last year. He said it was a ritual organised by Dubois’ father to help the fighter get into the right mindset. “So call it a ritual, whatever, it worked and it helped Daniel to be in the mode, fight mode to be destructive,” Charles explained. “So it didn’t work this time and that’s why there’s a lot of lies going on.”
Charles also brushed aside suggestions of a disagreement between Dubois and his father Stanley, calling it “hearsay”. He stressed that the team completed all necessary preparations, including hand wraps and stretches, with ten minutes to spare. “The only way it would have an impact is if we didn’t do all the preliminaries,” he added.
Usyk dominated the fight, winning every round on all three judges’ scorecards before knocking Dubois out in the fifth round with a looping left hand. Charles admitted there were areas for improvement but said it was too early to fully analyse the fight as the team is still “licking their wounds”. He confirmed Dubois is healthy and will take a holiday after a gruelling two-year period of consecutive training camps.
Charles praised Tyson Fury for publicly defending Dubois after the fight, calling him a “coward” on social media. “I’m glad someone like that is able to support him,” Charles said. “People listen to what Tyson says. A lot of these people putting negative narratives out are retired or active boxers who should know better.”
