Mark Tibbs seeking sitdown talks before he starts training South London heavyweight Daniel Dubois

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Mark Tibbs is set to train Daniel Dubois – but admits he needs to have a sitdown with the South London heavyweight’s former corner team.

The Greenwich puncher revealed last week that he had parted company with brothers Martin and Tony Bowers.

Dubois, looking to bounce back from a first career loss to Joe Joyce at the end of 2020, wants to work with Tibbs and his hugely-experienced father Jimmy. But the Bowers are still managing the 23-year-old, who is looking to rebuild after November’s stoppage defeat.

Tibbs is in Spain training super-middleweight Billy Joe Saunders. He told iFL TV: “I’ve got my father out of the house and he is doing a little bit of coaching with Daniel, but nothing too heavy.

“I’ve not sat down properly with Martin, Tony and Frank Warren [promoter] just yet because I’m out here in Spain. I would like to train Daniel, I feel I can add to his game and make him a better fighter than he is.

“I’ve built prospects up and got them to championship level and they have gone their own way. It happens, this is the business. But when you put a lot of time, energy and sometimes money into them it is not very nice.

“I’ve known Martin and Tony a very, very long time – since my teens. I hope we can work something out. I think together we can take him to new levels and do wonders for British boxing, but we’ve got to work together as a team.

“I want to be diplomatic. I don’t want to lose friends. You can see how difficult it is for me right now. When I get back to London we will all sit down and hopefully come up with a plan to move the kid forward so he can fly the flag for British boxing and hopefully world championship boxing. But all parties have got to be happy in order for us to do the navigation.”

Dubois had steamrollered over 15 opponents – 14 of those inside the distance – to win the British, Commonwealth, WBO Silver and WBC Silver titles.

But he opted to take a knee and be counted out in the 10th round against Joyce with his left eye completely swollen shut.

Warren claimed Dubois had suffered a broken socket and nerve damage.

Tibbs trained Dillian Whyte for four years – the Brixton fighter winning all 11 bouts. They split in early July, before his stunning knockout defeat to Alexander Povetkin.

Jimmy Tibbs was in Joyce’s corner when he boxed Dubois and has previously worked with ring greats like Nigel Benn, Barry McGuigan and Frank Bruno.

His son linked back up with Saunders – due to fight Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez – in September. Now he is set to get his hands on Dubois, who remains an excellent prospect despite a shattering defeat last time out.

“He has got all the attributes,” said Tibbs. “You never stop learning if you are shown certain things and put in certain situations and directed.

“He is a very sharp shooter who can punch. I saw some magic in him when Martin and Tony looked after him but I know where he is in his life and fighting career. I feel I can bring him on more.

“It is up to him at the end of the day. Daniel can be a very, very big threat. But let’s get over a few obstacles first.”

Dubois said: “As a fighter you only get one crack at the top and I’ve got to get out there and do what’s best for me. I also want to say that Mark and Tony Bowers have done a tremendous job with me.

“We’ve had a fantastic journey. We go our separate ways, with no hard feelings.”