Daniel Dubois Says Don Charles’ Slaps Helped Him Beat Fabio Wardley

Daniel Dubois Says Don Charles’ Slaps Helped Him Beat Fabio Wardley

Daniel Dubois says the slaps from trainer Don Charles helped bring him back into focus during his comeback win over Fabio Wardley on Saturday night. Dubois recovered from two knockdowns before stopping Wardley to capture the WBO heavyweight title in Manchester.

One of the biggest moments from the fight quickly spread across social media between rounds when Charles slapped Dubois twice in the corner while trying to wake him up after another difficult stretch in the fight.

Dubois said afterward that he had no problem with what his trainer did.

“I needed that slap just to wake up and stay in reality, you know,” Dubois said at the post-fight press conference.

“I’ve got to dig deep, as a warrior, you have to dig deep. You have to go to that dark place and come out on top.”

The victory was important for Dubois because questions about his toughness have followed him since defeats to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk, where critics accused him of giving up after taking knees during those fights.

Against Wardley, Dubois fought through early trouble and turned the fight around with pressure and power after surviving the first half of the contest.

Charles has become one of Dubois’ biggest supporters during the latter part of his career, repeatedly defending him against criticism and insisting the heavyweight has the mentality needed to compete at the top level.

Now holding the WBO belt, Dubois could soon be ordered to defend against Moses Itauma, who is expected to become a mandatory challenger. Itauma’s team has not confirmed whether they want to pursue that route immediately or continue building the 21-year-old contender before moving into a title fight.

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