Former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois is now a few weeks removed from his devastating KO loss to Oleksandr Usyk, the Ukrainian boxing master stopping Dubois in the fifth-round of their rematch. And now, as per a report by On The Record Boxing, Dubois has split from trainer Don Charles.
Charles, who “DDD” brought in a few fights ago, with Charles guiding Dubois to his three big wins over Jarell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, has reportedly been let go. It was only a few days ago when assistant trainer Kieran Farrell announced he was leaving Team-Dubois.
Did ‘party-gate’ seal Charles’ fate?
Now, nothing is absolutely official yet as far as Charles going also, but the folks at On The Record Boxing have been proven reliable with news stories in the past. Also unofficial is who Dubois will now take on as his latest trainer; the rumour being that Tony Sims will take on the job and perhaps has already committed to doing so. We must wait and hear full confirmation.
But Dubois and his team fell into a real state of disorder just hours before the massively important Usyk rematch, with reports soon surfacing over the way a party had been thrown prior to the fight, this on the very same day. Reportedly, Dubois didn’t even know a good many of the people who had been invited, and he went out for a drive in his car. Arriving late at Wembley, Dubois was then ruthlessly and efficiently dispatched by consummate professional Usyk.
Can Dubois rebuild under Tony Sims?
If Dubois has split with Charles, it may or may not have anything to do with the so-called ‘party-gate’ episode. Plenty of fighters, after suffering a bad defeat, do have the urge to switch things around and hook up with a new trainer, or even a new team, and it looks as though Dubois is another one.
At age 27, Dubois, beaten only by Usyk and by Joe Joyce, is certainly young enough to come again. If it is Sims who comes in as Dubois’s new trainer, the former IBF champ will be in good hands. This is not to say Charles wasn’t/isn’t a good trainer, let’s be clear on that. Best wishes go out to both Dubois and Charles with regards to the future.