MANCHESTER, England -- Don Charles emotionally defended Daniel Dubois on Saturday and hit out at those who had questioned his fighter before his win over Fabio Wardley.
Dubois recovered from two knockdowns, one in the opening moments of Round 1 and the second in Round 3, to stop Wardley in Round 11 to become a two-time heavyweight champion in Manchester.
Wardley had said that be believed Dubois could "capitulate" in fights if things weren't going his way given he had been stopped three times before.
Dubois' mentality was a topic of discussion in the lead up to the fight and his trainer Charles hit back the critics following the victory.
"No human being on this planet can question this kid ever again. Certainly don't question him in front of me," Charles said.
"What he showed tonight, he erased any doubt ... All the negative talk. It's almost like I'm glad the fight went that way, you know why? So he could demonstrate this 'quitting' narrative is not [true.]
"We know he's not, the people around him know he's not. I think he ticked every box."
- Dubois knocks out Wardley, becomes two-time heavyweight champion
- Dubois, Wardley remind everyone of boxing's beauty and brutality
Dubois conceded he was nervous heading into the fight as he was coming off a loss to Oleksandr Usyk in his last fight. After a poor start, a slap in the face from Charles helped him find his focus and he worked his way back into the fight with great composure to get the stoppage.
"I needed that slap just to wake up, stay in reality, not slip. I had to dig deep. As a warrior you've got to dig deep, go to that dark place and come out on top," Dubois said. The new WBO champion called himself and Wardley warriors and thanked his rival for the challenge.
"Thank God for a great fight. Thank Fabio for being an absolute warrior," he said. "Thank God. What a fight we had. I came through that test, off the back of a loss, I was a bit nervy to start off with, a bit all over the place, but I pulled it together and got the victory."
