Daniel Dubois’ trainer, Don Charles, has dismissed claims that a gathering at the boxer’s home before his world heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley on Saturday affected his performance.
Dubois was stopped in the fifth round by Usyk, and Charles acknowledged that the fighter arrived at the arena at 8:20 p.m., 90 minutes before his scheduled ring walk. Video footage of what Charles referred to as a "cultural gathering" rather than a party surfaced on Tuesday, but the trainer maintained that Dubois and his team arrived on time and had sufficient opportunity to complete all necessary pre-fight routines.
"It was more like a gathering, a cultural gathering," said Charles. "It wasn’t public. This kind of gathering also took place last September before Daniel faced Anthony Joshua. The same focus was placed on the ring walk then. He entered Wembley like a gladiator, fully prepared."
Charles also denied rumors of tension between Dubois and his father, Stanley. "I wasn’t there, but any talk of a disagreement is just hearsay. I assure you, nothing like that happened."
He explained that the pre-fight "ritual" organized by Dubois’ father was meant to mentally prepare the boxer. "Call it a ritual, whatever—it worked in the past, helping Daniel get into the right mindset. Many fighters have their own routines before a bout. Unfortunately, this time, it didn’t work, and now there’s unnecessary focus on the gathering rather than the fight itself."
Charles emphasized that the timing of Dubois’ arrival had no impact on preparations. "The only way it would have mattered is if we skipped essential steps like hand wrapping or stretching. We completed everything with 10 minutes to spare."
Some analysts had tipped Dubois to pull off an upset following his resurgence under Charles, which included knockout wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua before capturing the IBF world heavyweight title.
However, Usyk controlled the fight, with all three judges favoring him before he ended the bout in the fifth round with a decisive left hand, confirming his status as undisputed heavyweight champion.
Charles acknowledged areas for improvement but stated it was too soon to fully analyze the fight.
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