Daniel Dubois has split from his head trainer, Don Charles, talkSPORT understands.
A source close to Dubois’ camp confirmed to talkSPORT.com that the pair have parted ways after a fruitful two-year partnership that saw ‘Triple D’ crowned IBF heavyweight champion.
The news was first reported by Boxing Scene, who claim that Conor Benn‘s trainer, Tony Sims, has replaced Charles at the helm.
Charles started working with Dubois in 2023 ahead of his inaugural encounter with Usyk.
The Brit was subsequently stopped in the ninth round, but rebounded to beat Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua under Charles’ guidance.
Before Dubois’ fight with AJ, Usyk was forced to vacate his IBF title in order to rematch Tyson Fury.
In doing so, Dubois was upgraded from interim to full IBF world champion, resulting in another crack at the Ukrainian in an undisputed clash in July.
The second time around, Dubois was stopped four rounds quicker, leading to a complete overhaul in his backroom staff.
Assistant coach Kieran Farrell announced that he was no longer working with Dubois last week, while Sam Jones was recruited as his new manager.
Charles’ departure is the latest in a multitude of significant changes.
Reacting to the news on air, former world title challenger Paul Smith told talkSPORT’s Kelly and Jacobs: “I’m a little bit surprised.
“I feel that Don Charles is a good trainer, but more importantly, I think he is a good trainer for Daniel Dubois.
“He knows him inside out. The dynamics of that relationship always looked good to me.
“I’m not involved in that camp, but I feel that was probably the right fit for Daniel with Don Charles.
“He is somebody who is more of a fatherly figure to him.
“Daniel Dubois is very quiet; he doesn’t speak very much, so he needs someone who can take charge.”
Who is Daniel Dubois’ new trainer, Tony Sims?
It seems that the task of guiding Dubois’ career has now fallen to Sims, who is the 27-year-old’s fourth professional trainer after Charles, Shane McGuigan and Martin Bowers.
Sims famously led Joshua to the IBF heavyweight title with a win over Charles Martin in 2016 and has worked with several other world champions, including Ricky Burns, Joe Cordina, and Darren Barker.
The Essex-based coach recently linked up with fellow British heavyweight Johnny Fisher and continues to build a promising stable of fighters led by Benn, George Liddard, and Jimmy Sains.