WATCHING ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’ made Don Charles fall in love with boxing and, more than half a century later, he’s planning a shock he says would be bigger than Muhammad Ali toppling the mighty George Foreman.
The bookmakers had Ali a 4/1 underdog going into his clash with Foreman in Zaire in October 1974 and a teenage Charles sat watching open-mouthed in his London home as ‘The Greatest’ shook up the world again.
“I came to the UK [from Nigeria] as a 13-year-old to study and wanted to be Muhammad Ali after that fight!” Charles tells Boxing News.
“I boxed as an amateur without ever thinking I would make a career out of boxing and here I am competing for the biggest prize in the sport.”
On Saturday night at Wembley Stadium, he’s in the opposite corner to a fighter he has described as “an all-time great”.
Oleksandr Usyk shares a birthday with Ali – January 17 – and his achievements already put him up there with the modern greats.
The Ukrainian has won undisputed titles at two weights and this weekend aims to beat a defending world champion in their home country for the fifth time in his career.
Comparing the Usyk-Dubois rematch with the fight that got him hooked on boxing, Charles says: “Ali pulled it off against all the odds in The Rumble In The Jungle’ – but this is bigger.
“Ali had a lot of world title fights behind him going into that fight and was in a better position to do what he did.
“I see the fight differently now than I did then. Ali was a punchbag. It worked – but it was suicidal.
“This [Dubois beating Usyk] would be a bigger achievement, no question.
“Whatever happens after Daniel beats him, Usyk will be remembered as an all-time great.
“He has been undisputed champion at two weights and hasn’t lost for a long time – not since he was an amateur. If you talk about greats, you have to talk about Usyk.
“We know he is a phenomenal fighter, a phenomenal man, but Daniel will beat him.
“The gameplan we have, Usyk will either get stopped or retire.
“We have to seize this chance. This opportunity doesn’t come along very often and Daniel is at his peak. Between now and 30, he will be at his best.”
Though Usyk at 38 is the older fighter by 11 years, Charles insists he has seen no signs of decline in the 2012 Olympic champion since the first fight with Dubois, in Poland in August 2023.
Dubois and Charles left Wroclaw that night believing they had been robbed of the IBF, WBA ‘Super’ and WBO belts after a punch that dropped Usyk in the fifth round was ruled low by referee Luis Pabon.
“In all the years I’ve watched boxing, I’ve never seen a punch that landed there be called low,” says Charles, who will be 64 in December.
“We were very, very disappointed with what happened in Poland, but I believe in God.
“When things go wrong, people think it’s the end of the world. I don’t. I believe it’s all a part of God’s plan.
“If we had won the first fight, Daniel would have had three belts and who knows if they would have been split up?
“This time it’s for the undisputed title. This is a much bigger fight now.”
Charles says Dubois is now much better equipped to beat Usyk, having subsequently scored knockouts of Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua.
Furthermore, the first fight with Uysk was the first time Charles had worked with Dubois, and he says much has changed since then.
“Daniel was 25 when we started working together and he’s 27 now,” says Charles.
“He’s matured; he’s come out of himself. The company he keeps helps. Subconsciously, you pick up your surroundings and his dad did a great job with him.
“He’s got that work ethic from his dad starting him when he was six years old.
“It’s normal for Daniel to train. I don’t have to force him to train. Very often I have to say: ‘That’s enough, don’t do anymore.’
“The tough fights we have had have built his confidence along the way. The trust and confidence is there. We have told Daniel: ‘If you do X, Y and Z, this will happen’ and it’s happened that way.”
Charles spells out how much better he believes Dubois will be 693 days on from the first fight with Usyk that ended in a nine-round knockout.
Dubois joined him after splitting from coach Shane McGuigan, and Charles says: “We had a 14-week camp and he fought Usyk at less than 25% of his potential.
“We are between 75 and 80% at the moment. There’s a massive increase.
“By the time this fight comes, it will be 24 months working together – and there’s a huge difference between 14 weeks and 24 months.”
