Daniel Dubois’ trainer Don Charles has defended his fighter amid rumours that he was dominated by upcoming opponent Filip Hrgovic, when the heavyweight duo sparred in the past.
Dubois split from Shane McGuigan just over a year ago and since then ‘Triple D’ has given Oleksandr Usyk a run for his money in a challenge for the unified heavyweight throne and scored a career-best win over Jarrell Miller.
The Brit now seems set to challenge for world honours once again after the announcement of his bout with IBF mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic, which will expectedly be confirmed to be for the IBF world title following the conclusion of Tyson Fury vs. Usyk in May.
At the launch press conference, Hrgovic revealed that Dubois will need to have improved since the time they last shared the ring if the battle is to be competitive. Yet, in an interview with Boxing Social, Don Charles played down the relevancy of their previous encounter.
“Daniel was 21/22 years old at that time apparently, I wasn’t present, I wasn’t his coach. Daniel is now 26, so let’s say it was four of five years ago, Daniel was a mere baby when this sparring took place, if Filip Hrgovic is going to hold onto that and that is why he is confident – then good luck.
“He [Daniel] was a boy, who has now grown into a man. Look what he has achieved since. The Daniel that he is going to face on the first of June is not the Daniel that he sparred, he was a 21-year-old kid.”
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