Don Charles explains Dubois’ loss in the Usyk rematch

Don Charles, former trainer of British heavyweight Daniel Dubois, shared his view on why his ex-pupil lost to unified WBA, WBC, IBF and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.

“I came into that fight expecting something completely different from Daniel. In camp I saw a confident, composed Daniel. Before the fight he looked very calm. But when he stepped into the ring, he wasn’t as relaxed and threatening as he was, for example, before the Joshua fight.

In the early rounds there was a moment when Daniel backed Usyk into the corner – into a position Usyk doesn’t want to be in. I thought: now we’re going to see the difference between the first fight, where Daniel had a chance and didn’t take it, and the second fight, where he is already a champion and has to go forward, overwhelm Usyk. But that didn’t happen. And for me, that was very telling.

I believe Daniel was not at the level I expected to see him at. Yes, Usyk was brilliant, but Daniel didn’t show his maximum,” Charles said.

A reminder: on 19 July the rematch took place between Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) for the title of undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. The bout ended in the fifth round with the Ukrainian’s victory: first Usyk dropped Dubois, and in his next attack produced a spectacular knockout. Full fight stats are available via the link.