‘A Man in Trance’: Daniel Dubois’ Head Trainer Claims Anthony Joshua Was ‘Hypnotised’ Before Match – News18

Professional boxer Daniel Dubois’ head trainer Don Charles has opined that Anthony Joshua looked like he was under ‘hypnosis’ before the blockbuster fight last week. Dubois and Joshua squared off in a historic boxing fight at the Wembley Stadium on September 21. In an epic all-British showdown, Dubois dropped Joshua four times to pave the way for a stunning fifth-round knockout. The underdog performed unthinkably in front of a British-record 98,000 fans. Speaking about a poor performance from Joshua on TalkSPORT, Dubois’ trainer claimed that the two-time Unified World Heavyweight Champion had been hypnotised. “When I looked across the ring, I saw a man who looked like he was in a trance. He looked like he was in hypnosis like he had been hypnotised.” Don said.

The boxing show was a complete demolition job with Joshua failing to cope with his rival Dubois’ power. Joshua was eventually sent tumbling in the opening stanza after a crushing punch from Dubois. During the fight, Don Charlie identified patterns in Joshua’s ring walk. He said, “My duty and focus is on us, but I know Anthony Joshua very well.” Explaining his hypnosis claim, he added, “I am experienced, I can pick up on things.”

Charlie also extensively discussed how the fans were expecting to see stage fright catching up to Dubois. But it ended up being Joshua who seemed to lose the plot early. “They said Daniel was going to get stage fright, but he [Joshua] looked like a man who was in a state of shock…He was like ‘Oh my god this is real now’, he could also feel the energy from the opposition,” he said on the podcast.

Speaking further, Charlie talked about how Joshua was not prepared for the enormous pressure during the fight whereas Dubois read the situation very well. “The reason there were 96,000 people in there was for him but there was enormous pressure and he didn’t need that…He didn’t look prepared for it, he looked haunted by it. Dubois came in and looked prepared to fight like a hunter,” he said.

This is not the first time fans and experts have picked up on Joshua’s pre-fight behaviour. It was first noticed during Joshua’s first-ever ring walk in the US, where he pulled off an upset against Andy Ruiz Junior at Madison Square Garden in 2019. Joshua’s boxing future is now up in the air but a rematch between him and Dubois could be scheduled next year.