Don Charles has denied reports that he is training Jermaine Franklin for his fight on March 28 with Moses Itauma.

America’s Franklin is already in the UK finalising his preparations for the opponent considered the most promising young heavyweight in the world, but he continues to be guided by Jesse Addison and Lorenzo Reynolds ahead of the date at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.

Charles, regardless, has agreed to allow Franklin to use his PUG Farm Gym in Borehamwood, on the outskirts of London. It is from there that the trainer is overseeing Daniel Dubois’ training camp for his WBO heavyweight title fight on March 9 – also at the Co-op Live – against Fabio Wardley, and the Frenchman Tony Yoka’s preparations for his contest with Dubois’ fellow Englishman Lawrence Okolie at Paris’ Adidas Arena on April 25.

“He’s using my gym to do camp,” Charles told BoxingScene. “My colleague [and assistant] Tony Pill asked me ‘Can Jermaine Franklin use your gym for his camp, and pay you?’ I said ‘Yeah, of course’. It’s not unusual for such things to happen. So he’s in my gym but I’m not training him. 

“There’s a conflict of interest – I work with Frank Warren. Daniel Dubois and Tony Yoka are both signed for Queensberry, so it wouldn’t be right to get involved, ‘cause he’s fighting Moses Itauma. I wouldn’t do it. He’s got a coach. There is no me training Jermaine Franklin.”

Even without taking on Franklin – at 32, 11 years the Englishman Itauma’s senior – Charles is in what he describes as “the busiest period of my career” and, to that end, not least because of the physical demands involved in training two world-level heavyweights, he has had to recruit more staff.

“With Daniel Dubois there are three other pad men – I’m the fourth pad man,” he explained. “Tony Yoka, there’s two pad men – me and one other. I extended my operation. I’ve got helpers – I’m still hands on.

“This is a good period.

“[Yoka has] been with Queensberry for 18 months and we’ve been begging for such a fight. Not necessarily Okolie – but a fight of that magnitude. He needs to get into the mix and this is the perfect, direct, route. 

“Daniel’s gonna bash up Fabio [laughs].”