Boxing
Renowned trainer reveals why Dubois will be 'on point' for Wardley rematch
Garcia vs. Benn live on DAZN - Saturday
When Daniel Dubois was floored by Fabio Wardley after just 10 seconds in May, Don Charles didn’t panic.
The respected cornerman knew his fighter was battling nerves and had faith he would beat the count. In fact, he thought Dubois climbed to his feet too quickly.
After the Londoner went down again in the third round of the WBO world heavyweight contest in Manchester, Charles still believed.
With the fight in the balance, he slapped Dubois twice before sending him out for the fifth — and the instinctive action woke up the former IBF champion.
Relive the heavyweight epic between Wardley and Dubois
Dubois, who turns 29 today, worked his way back into the brutal fight-of-the-year contender before Howard Foster waved it off in the 11th to save Wardley from sustained punishment.
Now that the rematch has been set for October 17 at London’s O2 Arena, Charles is confident there will be no more mistakes.
Speaking exclusively to DAZN News, he said: “Daniel came into that fight off the back of a terrible stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk. We've shaken that off because he had an emphatic battle for the world title — and an emphatic win.
“He's a human being. Psychologically, that would have done him a world of good. He was nervy, hence why his concentration wasn't there.
“That's why he sustained a flash knockdown. Thank God it was a glancing blow, which momentarily scrambles your brain.
Queensberry Promotions
“Had it been on the chin, that would have been it and we would have been ridiculed. Who's to say he would have come back from that?
“Going into this fight, I can't really reveal the changes, but the nerves have been shaken off. There still will be some, of course, but not to the level of what he had.
“The concentration level will be more switched on because it happened in the first bloody 10 seconds.
“He'll be on point — and the rest I'm not going to reveal.”
While Charles is playing his cards close to his chest, Dubois is targeting a quick night’s work.
Ripping the WBO title from Wardley restored his confidence after being stopped by Usyk in five rounds in July 2025, when questions about his heart were raised once again.
By getting up twice, Dubois showed he had the grit to battle on when the going gets tough.
Charles added: “Time froze [after the first knockdown]. You have to deal with it — and the fighter has to deal with it. He's the one who sustained the punch. He's the one who got up.
“In fact, he got up too soon. Take the full count and get up as late as you can.
“He got up, fought on and completed the round pretty strong. He came out and won the second round. It happened again in the third. Again, it was a glancing blow. Again, he got up.
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“I don't think I've ever had rollercoaster emotions like that throughout a fight. I'm getting old now, but I had a heart check that day. It proved my heart is pretty good.”
As for the double slap, Charles is not planning on repeating it. He said: “It was just an energy thing that came over me. I didn't plan that day I'm going to slap Daniel.
“Although Fabio was on top, Daniel hit him with a couple of shots and I saw his body language change. I thought this is actually an opportunity to seize, take over, so I had to slap him.
“Anything I could do to make him recognise we can win this fight. Although you've gone down twice, we can win this fight. And it bloody worked.
“The respect I have for Fabio has grown after that fight. I mean, what a guy, what a fighter, what a heart, what grit.
“It's a pity they've got to fight again, but that's the business we're in.”
Watch Garcia vs. Benn on DAZN
Britian's Conor Benn looks to become a world champion for the first time against US superstar Ryan Garcia on Saturday, September 12.
Watch the fight exclusively in the UK & Ireland and other territories (check for availability) on DAZN PPV or included in our Ultimate Tier subscription.
