Daniel Dubois is now a two-time heavyweight champion. In front of a packed crowd at Co-OP LIVE Arena, he and Fabio Wardley produced what many now consider a heavyweight classic.

The Queensberry-DAZN headliner ended in the 11th round after a barrage of Dubois’ punches left Wardley defenseless, forcing the referee to intervene and stop the fight. Still, one moment especially stuck with fans. The incident where Daniel Dubois’ trainer slapped him during the break quickly gained major traction online.

“Daniel Dubois’ coach just slapped the sh*t out of him 😭,” read the tweet from Happy Punch.

The post featured a ten-second clip from the fight. As the round break ended and Dubois prepared to resume, his trainer Don Charles, who joined his camp just a few months ago, gave him two slaps – left and right.

Speaking after the fight, Charles said the moment was spontaneous and nothing more.

“An instinctive vibration,” he said. “Energy to wake him up to make him realize the task he’s got ahead. There’s still a job to be done.”

That explanation also reflected the shifting momentum inside the fight. Fabio Wardley had knocked down Dubois twice, and at one point it looked like he might retain his title.

Yet the 28-year-old, whose momentum had stalled after the Usyk loss last year, rallied back to stop Wardley.

Charles clearly played a major role in that turnaround. That didn’t go unnoticed, with fans quick to react on social media.

Social media erupts after Daniel Dubois corner incident

Some fans felt it worked, with one writing bluntly, “It f**king worked too. 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭.” That view may be debatable. Charles helped Dubois when he needed him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the fighter lacked motivation.

Another commented, “No wonder he KO’d Wardley; it was that or fight his own coach. 😭”. “Beyond the joke, the point remains: Dubois understood the stakes. Another setback would have completely reset his momentum.

The jokes kept coming, however. “Take a break between rounds just for your coach to fight you too 😂,” one taunted.

Still, one user offered a more measured take. “Dubois is like a kid in the ring; he needs slap and tell what to do like a robot. Even when he gets knocked down, he looks for his dad/coaches,” they said.

That’s a narrative quite a few fans buy into. Last year’s controversy surrounding the Usyk fight, when reports suggested Dubois partied ahead of the bout, even if false, helped fuel the perception that he needs someone to motivate and push him.

Another fan added, “You needed to see this like a warning to never backing down.”

That sentiment likely stems from criticism after the Usyk bout, when certain sections felt Dubois had quit the fight after the Ukrainian dropped him in the 5th round.

Still, the ending changed everything. Daniel Dubois made history in dramatic fashion. Many already consider the fight a Fight of the Year contender. Fighting through doubts, getting dropped twice, and still returning to become champion again is the kind of comeback boxing fans remember for years.