Don Charles has been hurt by boxing before. He knows the business, knows how it works and knows that when a fighter loses, the trainer is often the first casualty.
That doesn’t mean it gets any easier, and it’s no reason not t be a pro and to focus on the task at hand when he’s in the gym.
When Daniel Dubois walked away from Charles following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, the trainer was devastated. He had invested far more than time and expertise in the heavyweight puncher. Their relationship, he insists, goes beyond boxing.
Now they are preparing to face Fabio Wardley for the second time, and Charles is determined to ensure that the mistakes of their first violent encounter – back in May – are not repeated.
“Well, yeah,” sighs Charles. “That’s the idea, to identify the mistakes we made in the first fight with Fabio and go back to the drawing board and try and eradicate.”
The rematch between his fighter, Daniel Dubois, and Fabio Wardley, is just a few days away and the night is heavy on Don’s mind.
Five months ago, they shared a violent and bloody battle.
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Dubois was down twice but ultimately bludgeoned Wardley into a brutal 11th round stoppage.
“Could you get total eradication?” Charles adds. “Probably not. But I always say in any examination, you score high as you can. You get a start. So that’s what we intend to do, it’s to try and reduce a large amount of the mistakes we made and we should be the victor.”
Dubois was dropped in the first 20 seconds last time out, and Charles contended it was more due to Dubois’ pre-fight apprehension rather than being caught cold.
Sure, Dubois may have notched that impressive run against Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, but Charles said there was an element of starting over against Wardley as he rebounded from his second stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
“Looking back at it, Daniel has, on many occasions, after the fight, he said he was feeling... Remember, he was coming off the back of a big loss to Oleksandr Usyk and it was a knockout loss. He said it himself, he said he had nerves, he was carrying a lot of nerves going into the first encounter. Only the fighter can tell you that. He revealed that afterwards. It’s not something we discussed prior. He said it after the fight, which explains it. He said he had a lot of nerves going. Imagine doing that ring walk for the Fabio fight and in the fighter’s mind, it’s almost like, ‘Last time I did this ring walk, I lost and I got knocked out.’
“Imagine carrying all that into that. Fabio, being the fighter he is, had a very, very fast start, which caught us off guard. Daniel went in there, he said it himself, a lot of nerves, and that caught him out.”
Sure, Dubois was down early. But he got up and fought back. Dubois was also down in round three. But he got up and fought back.
Then he took control and started to grind away, bashing and battering Wardley in an increasingly one-sided fight until the end came.
And while Dubois may have confronted his doubts going into the first fight, he should be buoyed ahead of this weekend’s rematch at London’s O2 Arena because he knows he can eat up Wardley’s best shots and his early bombs and come through it.
“Well, there’s a lot of questions he answered for himself and for the team and for the general public,” Charles continued. “Of him not having heart, of him quitting previously. So he answered a lot of questions, but I can assure you that that was not part of our game plan – for him to sustain two knockdowns, not one, two knockdowns, and get up and fight on and to produce such a performance. He showed a lot in that fight and I’m glad it happened, it panned out that way because he answered a lot of, never mind myself, the team or the general public, he answered himself that when the going gets tough, he can stick it out and still grind it out.”
(Pictures courtesy of Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions)
“And Dubois has unwittingly become a star. His front-foot aggression and power have produced a succession of thrilling fights and knockouts, but his quiet nature, punctuated by the occasional memorable one-liner, has also endeared him to fans.”
“It appears that way,” Charles said with a smile. “Historically, you could look at, compare that to a lot of fighters that weren’t loved when they were active, then later on in their career, people start to warm up to the character. It’s like pantomime, isn’t it? You buy into the character. Once you start to know the character, then you start to understand some of the things they do, characteristically what they do, then you start to buy into that character.
“I think that’s what’s happening in Daniel’s career right now.”
And the always-paternal Don, working daily with Dubois, sees sides of the heavyweight puncher that others remain unfamiliar with.
“It’s well documented. With all my fighters, they’re like my children,” Charles explained.
“It’s beyond boxing, I would say, our relationship. It’s beyond boxing. It has to be beyond boxing. It really has to be. I’m not gonna go too much elaborate anymore into that. It’s beyond boxing.”
Of course, the appearance of Dubois’ father in the camp and making key decisions has given the appearance that Daniel’s dad runs the show. Asked for specifics, Charles provided an analogy.
“I get paid because I’m the captain of the ship, but the ship – somebody owns that ship,” Charles said.
“Okay. Yeah, in every walk of life, yeah. Even if you’re self-employed, which I am, even the general plumber, electrician in the trade, somebody commissions you and gives you that contract and you’re answerable to that person.
“So that’s my role. I am the captain of my ship, but somebody employs me and says, ‘Can you take this passenger to this destination?’ I’m instructed and I will do to the best of my ability to run my ship.”
