No party before Dubois faces Wardley – Charles

Trainer Don Charles guaranteed Daniel Dubois’ team will not be hosting a party before Saturday’s fight against WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley in Manchester.

Dubois, 28, arrived for July’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk at around 20:15 BST – less than two hours before his ringwalk – after reports that a gathering had been held at his house.

The Briton was stopped in the fifth round, losing his IBF title, and his team subsequently held an “internal inquest” as to why the party was allowed to happen.

A similar event had been held prior to Dubois’ victory over Anthony Joshua in September 2024, when he knocked out the former champion in the ninth round.

“It’s not ideal to have a gathering on the day of the fight,” Charles told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Boxing with Steve Bunce podcast.

“I’m not here to justify but they did the same gathering prior to the Joshua fight – that gave birth to the ringwalk.

“They tried to replicate that but it didn’t work. I can guarantee there will be no gathering before this fight.”

Dubois is aiming to become a two-time world champion when he faces fellow Briton Wardley at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on Saturday.

He joked that they would “have a bigger party this time” before insisting the previous gathering had no influence on his performance against Ukraine’s Usyk.

“It wasn’t why I lost,” Dubois said.

“I went up against one of the greatest fighters of this generation and I’m glad I have the experience of sharing the ring with him twice.”

Dubois and Charles parted ways after that loss at Wembley, ending their 18-month relationship, but they reunited later in 2025 and have been working towards returning to the top of the sport.

“He was ticking over and training,” Charles said.

“He went on holiday for five weeks to get a bit of sun and went to Tony [Sims] before coming back to familiar territory.

“There was not a lot of talking, there was a lot of embracing. I love all my fighters and when he walked in with his father we embraced each other and I said ‘welcome home’.”