Daniel Dubois has spent 16 weeks training at Farm Gym in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, ahead of his WBO heavyweight title challenge against Fabio Wardley in Manchester on May 9.
A Daily Mail Sport reporter, Ciaran Foreman, visited the gym and stepped into the ring with Dubois' coach, Don Charles, for a padwork session, alongside Dubois' head of performance, Mohammed Ali.
Reunion with Don Charles
Dubois and Charles separated for four months following Oleksandr Usyk's second consecutive victory over Dubois, before reuniting in January. Charles said it was where Dubois came home.
Charles said not much was said between them when they reunited. He said the body language when Dubois came back spoke for itself, and that he told him welcome back home before they embraced.
Inside Farm Gym
The gym occupies a former tractor storage barn. Charles said he asked the farmer for years to convert it, and that he eventually agreed, letting him put his own design on it. Charles described it as very raw and very basic, adding that is all boxing needs.
The room holds a sand pit that Dubois uses to train leg strength and balance, with a poster of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky at the end of it. Punch bags line the rest of the space, some hanging from the ceiling and some standing upright. A large poster on the wall beside the ring reads: Dynamite Daniel Dubois, IBF Heavyweight World Champion. Dubois was elevated to that title following Usyk's vacation of the belt in 2024.
Charles, who has also worked with Derek Chisora, built much of the gym for Dubois, his first world champion after 25 years in coaching.
Wembley in view
The arch of Wembley Stadium is visible over the rolling hills surrounding the farm. It was the site of Dubois' knockout win over Anthony Joshua in September 2024.
Charles said he tells Dubois that is his destiny. He said every morning Dubois drives in and the first thing he sees is Wembley, adding that for the Joshua fight they had to go deep and search, and by the time they got to Wembley, Dubois felt at home because he had been seeing it every day.
Battle of Britain in Manchester
Dubois' next fight will not be at Wembley, where he drew a post-war British boxing record crowd of 96,000. Instead he travels to Manchester's Co-op Live arena, where 23,500 fans are expected for what is being billed as a Battle of Britain against Wardley.
Wardley has 20 wins from 21 fights, 19 by knockout, including a win over Joseph Parker last October. Charles said they have been here before and are not arrogant, adding that Dubois is definitely not an arrogant kid. He said Wardley is the champion and Dubois the challenger, and that they are coming with a challenger's mentality while training like a challenger.
Asked how he is preparing Dubois mentally, Charles laughed and said if he told him he would have to kill him, comparing it to The Godfather films, and joking that he could not reveal such things in a barn with horses.
A reporter steps in the ring
The session began with a cardio test of jumping jacks and shadow boxing before moving to footwork. Foreman, a right-hander, was told to stand in a 12-4 stance with his left foot forward and right foot angled behind, hands up by his cheeks and chin tucked, following Charles around the ring in a light galloping motion.
From the side of the ring, Ali, who also works with Conor Benn, said Foreman was making more of a 12-6 stance, putting too much weight on his front foot, and that his chin was too high, calling it a dangerous habit.
Foreman was then handed Dubois' own gloves, 10oz and, combined with heavy hand wraps, dense enough that he said they made him feel like he would sink in a swimming pool. After a jab and a right hand landed solidly, Charles exclaimed that he had got power, sounding surprised himself. Foreman said he followed Charles around the ring for the next 20 minutes throwing jabs and uppercuts despite what he called his shoddy footwork.
