“Do you see that?” grinned Don Charles.
“See what?” replied Daniel Dubois and his father, Stanley.
“Over there,” Charles asserted.
Charles had recently collected the keys for a farm building that he could convert into a gym.
You could still smell the horses that lived there, but the Dubois’ more immediate concern was what was on the horizon when Charles pointed it out to them from the gravelled car park in front.
“Over there,” Don smiled. “It’s your destiny.”
Looking beyond the rolling hills and toward the north London skyline in the distance was the familiar arch of Wembley Stadium.
Father and son smiled.
“Destiny, you see,” said Don. “Come in.”
***
Charles and Daniel Dubois had had training camps in Spain, but for Dubois’ fight with Anthony Joshua in September 2024 the coach accepted the keys to the farm and brought in all of the kit a heavyweight-champion-in-waiting could use.
Sure, it still smelled of horses, but I’ve been in gyms that smell far worse.
This has a ring with a light rig over it, each and every type of bag, running machines, an ice bath, an oxygen chamber, gymnastic rings, a rowing machine, ski erg, kettlebells, and medicine balls.
On the walls are several black-and-white posters of heavyweight champions, including Muhammad Ali and Jack Dempsey, and a framed poster of the original Rocky movie is used to wedge the door open. Another poster has 10 Boxing Life Lessons on it – mentioning qualities like discipline, self-belief, and being humble – and on two sides of the ring are pews, rows of seats lifted out of an old church. One row is for media, onlookers and people like me. The other is for Stanley and Stanley only.
The largest banner on the wall hangs vertically, and along with Daniel’s image in black and white it reads: “Dynamite Daniel Dubois IBF heavyweight world champion.”
You can’t see Wembley from inside. That view is reserved for the car park, but when he pulls up in his car it is a daily reminder for Don of what has happened and what is to come. “Destiny,” he repeats.
It was there where Dubois stormed to a fifth-round stoppage victory over Joshua in front of approaching 90,000 fans – dropping the British icon four times before stopping him so violently that Joshua is yet to return to the ring.
It is there, too, where on Saturday Dubois faces Oleksandr Usyk in the latest chapter of his unlikely return from condemned contender to dangerous champion.
Despite the incredible run with Dubois that Charles has been on, he refuses to take much credit for it. With 14 weeks’ notice, their first bout together was against the brilliant Usyk in Poland in August 2023. Dubois lost when being stopped in the ninth round, but the work they have done since has grabbed the attention. Neither Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, nor Joshua have made it to the final bell against the 27 year old. Miller and Hrgovic had not been stopped before. Don played a part, of course, but modesty forbids him from admitting so much.
“I inherited Daniel Dubois because he was already an established fighter – his fundamentals were intact,” Charles tells BoxingScene.
“It’s the first time in my 25-year coaching career where I’m working with a fighter of that caliber. And I knew from day one that what I’m gonna do with him; put in layers, layers upon layers without disturbing what was already there.”
Charles went to work, believing Dubois has gone from operating at about 60 per cent of his capacity to around 80 or 85 per cent.
“What does that get you, B [grade]? A low A in the examination?” he asks. “So we are close to him being an A, then A star.”
The layers are added about 10 miles north of that Wembley arch and there is no question that Dubois is a more complete fighter, mentally and physically, than when he first boxed Usyk.
“We fell short,” Charles admits. “We took it on, we had to cram so much information and it takes time for anything, with any fighter, for the information to go into their system where they have to do it automatically without overthinking it. So even irrespective of doing a mere 14-week camp, I still believe he did well.
“I was devastated. He was devastated. The whole team was devastated when we lost in Poland. But, looking back now, in hindsight it was meant to happen because we’ve gone away and this has allowed us time to develop Daniel Dubois.”
There’s clearly a paternal side to Charles’ relationship with Dubois, but that is not a role Charles wants or needs to fit. Dubois’ father, Stanley, is a huge presence in his boy’s career, and in the same vein that Charles praises the work of Shane McGuigan and others who worked with Dubois before him, he is equally happy to admit that Stanley’s presence is crucial.
For many, it is a golden rule that family is family and their involvement should be restricted in the gym and at the negotiating table. Not Stanley. He sits at the controls of Daniel Dubois, and Charles is happy with that.
“It’s an unspoken rule,” says Charles. “Generally, you don’t get them involved, but this is no ordinary dad, if I may add. This dad, it has been well written, is well documented, he has been very instrumental in all his children’s lives from day one. He’d been training them at home, not necessarily in boxing, but in physical training at five, seven years old, they’re doing like a thousand press-ups and that's not normal, is it? But this is what he’s put his children through. They’re extraordinary people. And he’s an extraordinary, extraordinary father – whether it’s right or wrong. Yeah. He’s an extraordinary individual.
“They [all of the children] are like that. [World lightweight champion and Daniel’s sister] Caroline’s like that. The ones that fight, [younger brothers] Prince and Solomon. Daniel himself. People might say it’s a hard life, but these kids aren’t wielding knives on the streets. They are staying in their lane. And they’ve got respect, which is lacking in society today.”
Stanley’s involvement is such that Charles relays messages to his charge through the father.
That is the way it works best. Even speaking to a sports psychologist, Charles was told that method would be the best way of working with them. Don’t talk over them; don’t restrict their communication; embrace it and use it.
Charles does not see it as undermining his role, either – more that it is a tool he can use to get the best out of his fighter.
“I don’t have no ego,” Charles adds. “This is not about anyone’s ego. This is about getting the best of the athletes. The dad acts as a conduit, the same way a radio system works. It is a tool to get the message across. So why would I ignore that? That’d be ignorant of me. What? Because of my ego? No. As long as the message is getting to the fighter, that’s all I care about. You can see he really wants to be involved. He knows his son better than anyone; better than me. It’s working. It’s brilliant.”
Dubois’ father sits and watches each training session. He monitors the drills. Occasionally he will say: “Your coach is telling you the right thing” or “listen to your coach”.
“So we found a way,” Charles adds. “Dan was not an everyday child. He’s not. He’s unique. He’s special. So this special kid, there’s a way. We found the formula. Hence why the rapid development that you guys are noticing. I’m not some miracle worker.”
There have, in recent times, been viral moments of Dubois – whether it’s been zoning out at press conferences, his cumbersome call out of Usyk in the ring, or when he told “Big Baby” Miller that he was going to be his daddy.
Charles beams with pride that another side to Dubois has been seen. Dubois is not verbose like Ali, intimidating like Sonny Liston, or as charismatic as Jack Johnson.
“Because this kid, right, and I’m getting goosebumps as I speak to you, when you see him away from the camera, there’s certain things that will give him the giggles,” Don goes on.
“And he is smiling from ear to ear. And nothing gives me more joy than to see that. Because he’s a very intense kid. He’s a very intense human being. He’s very regimental. By the time Daniel gets here to the gym, it’s already programmed what he’s going to do. He comes in; we have a routine. He likes structure. He’ll come in, barely say hello to anyone – not because he doesn’t want to say hello to you, it’s just he doesn’t want to disrupt what he has. He knows what he’s going to do.”
Don will lay out what is needed each session. The tape; the gauze; the pads; the gloves; everything is arranged before Dubois arrives. Don matches his charge’s methodical ways. The sessions are choreographed. The pieces are not moved. That would only cause confusion.
Through it all, the bond between the fighter and trainer has deepened.
Two years ago, when they first trained together in camp in Spain for the first fight with Usyk, Don stopped Dubois and said: “All I need from you is to trust me.”
Dubois’ eyes wandered. Don thought to himself: “No, he doesn’t.”
That trust, Don now says, is up to 99 per cent, partly through shared experiences and the bond, but also through the results they’ve had.
“‘Okay, what this man is telling me, it’s working so I’m going to keep doing it,’” says Charles.
Dubois has also matured and, importantly, had a couple of very taxing defeats – against Joe Joyce and Usyk – to learn from that helped shape his future.
“Outside of boxing, there’s the maturity; natural maturity; growth in every capacity; mental growth; physical growth. So yeah, he’s a different guy,” Don continues.
Charles believes that if Dubois beats Usyk on Saturday – though Don would say “when” rather than “if” – the Englishman would surpass the achievements of his countrymen Tyson Fury and Joshua. Both have had two cracks at Usyk, and two losses apiece, and this is Dubois’ second.
“Right now, they’re neck and neck, the three of them,” says Charles. “And by winning on Saturday, on the 19th, a hundred per cent to do what neither of them couldn’t do twice, he will go in front.”
There is also no doubt in the coach’s mind that Dubois does what the two others could not.
Charles believes a lot of the work, as much as 60 per cent, with Daniel has been psychological, but he has also armed him with far more as a fighter. Dubois is also stretching, working on his flexibility, and has taken out lifting heavy weights because Charles felt he was too musclebound. The only weights they do now are either functional or performed explosively.
“The results speak for themselves, but Usyk is a southpaw, an extraordinary southpaw,” Don recognizes. “So the things he learned in Spain two years ago, I’m starting to see evidence of it in the preparation for this, all those sparring partners... He now understands the rules. When you’re fighting a southpaw, there are rules you must obey; foot placement; positioning; head position; everything. So he now understands. When I look back at it, oh my god, this child, he went into that battle two years ago without having these tools. And as I sit here, I only see one result – a Daniel victory.”
No matter that Usyk, at 38, is a little older. Don knows that two hard fights with Fury won’t have helped Usyk at this stage of his life, but still he has nothing but respect for the champion.
“Who knows what that’s taken out of him?” Charles asks. “Who knows? I don’t know but we’re going to find out on the 19th. Daniel Dubois will ask those questions. Usyk knows he’s in for a hard fight. Usyk believes in Usyk’s ability. He should. He’s bloody good. He didn’t have to have this fight and even after he loses to Daniel, I’m not going to look at him in a different light. He’s a great fighter – a generational great.”
There has, of course, been headlines about Fury wanting a third fight with Usyk. Charles merely scoffs at that: “We’re not stopping them fighting a trilogy – they can fight their trilogy after we’ve taken the belts off him,” he grins. “He’s dismissing Daniel like all of them always do. I can say this, none of them want Daniel to be in the position that he is.”
Charles felt that Dubois should have been awarded the win over Usyk first time around based on the incapacitating blow that was eventually ruled low, but of the overall view of the fight, Charles says: “We had our moments. It wasn’t sustained.”
He knows what they did was not enough and that improvements are compulsory. But he believes they have been made and that this time they are ready.
“It’s my first world champion, but so by winning on the 19th, he would have surpassed my expectations,” smiles the 64 year old. “Because I’ll be honest with you, as ambitious as I am, I never thought I’d have the opportunity that I will be in a position to contest for the undisputed [heavyweight championship of the world].
“But it’s not good enough just qualifying for it. We’ve got to win it. I want Daniel to win on the 19th and it will be his era. He will reign supremely, in my opinion, after he gets victory on the 19th; he will reign for the next three years till he’s 30. Then he decides, ‘Do I want to carry on?’, or, ‘I’ve got enough money and get out with your faculties intact’. That’s so important. He could easily retire at 30 and not come back, like Lennox Lewis did.”
Unsurprisingly, Charles wants his fighter to be happy and content. He won’t encourage Dubois to stick around for too long. And while he’s not content just to be along for the ride, he is grateful for the spot it took him 25 years to earn.
Once he and long-time heavyweight contender Derek Chisora parted ways, Charles thought his shot at the big time was done. He kept working, but was aware that the clock was ticking.
“I thought that [Chisora] was my last chance as a coach… ‘Where am I going to get this fighter who’s a world beater? Where?’” he shrugs. “It was not the plan. It’s a sudden thing. “It’s called destiny.”
***
As Don walks me out of the gym, he grabs a see-through packet of apple slices and beckons me over to a nearby field.
“I’m not sure if they’ll come over,” he says.
“Ms Reilly,” he calls, and Charles starts clicking his tongue with the bottom of his mouth.
Ms Reilly, a black horse with white blotches, emerges, and she brings with her a tanned friend.
Don splits open the packet and the horses snuffle down the slices in quick order.
“Usually I have carrots,” he says, tenderly stroking their noses.
He walks me to my car, says goodbye, and adds, “Over there” – pointing to the familiar arch of Wembley Stadium in the distance.
“Destiny.”
