Daniel Dubois made brutally short work of Fabio Wardley in the rematch of their instant heavyweight classic, retaining the WBO heavyweight title inside two rounds in London on Saturday night.
Dubois recovered from two early knockdowns in their initial encounter to bludgeon Wardley to an 11th-round loss.
The wisdom of Wardley jumping straight back in with the man who caused him such damage just five months later always felt questionable, and it looked dangerously reckless within 20 seconds of the return.
In the first fight, Wardley floored Dubois with his first punch of note; this time, Dubois hammered home a huge right hand off the jab to rob Wardley of his equilibrium and score a knockdown.
Wardley looked to bowl back overhand rights under fire but Dubois kept his punches straighter and shorter to rock his man’s head back repeatedly. The champion was merciless and calculated. He almost had Wardley out of there before the end of the opening session. The challenger was already reduced to throwing Hail Mary uppercuts and that opened him up to a succession of clean head shots.
As a man with no formal amateur experience, Wardley’s journey from white-collar boxing as a recruitment consultant to the top of the sport’s glamour division is truly incredible. His bravery and heart know no bounds and he waded back into the storm in round two. But Dubois measured him perfectly for the finish, trapping his beleaguered foe in the corner.
Wardley was stopped on his feet as the towel came in to save him from even more punishment he need not have received. The 31-year-old Ipswich man should now take time to heel before his next move.
For Dubois, the tantalising prospect of becoming the heavyweight division’s dominant force awaits. Oleksandr Usyk has beaten Dubois twice but is winding down; Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua belatedly have business with one another. IBF champion Filip Hrgovic, who lost to Dubois in a 2024 thriller, was in the ring afterwards to make his case.
Dubois’s path to this peak has been neither direct nor simple, but he now looks well-placed to clinically make the most of his status as the most dangerous active heavyweight on the planet today.
Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley 2 full card results
Main card (2 p.m. ET)
- Daniel Dubois (c) def. Fabio Wardley (TKO 2/12); WBO heavyweight title
- Louie O’Doherty (c) draw. Michael Gomez Jr. (MD 12); British and Commonwealth lightweight titles
- Bakhodir Jalolov def. Solomon Dacres (UD 10); Heavyweight
- Nelson Birchall def. Levi Giles (TKO 7/10); Super featherweight
- Tony Curtis def. Kerim Agius (TKO 4/8); Super flyweight
Queensberry, Leigh Dawney
Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley 2 start time
- Date: Saturday, October 17
- Start time: 5:30 p.m. ET
- Location: O2 Arena – London
Where to watch Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley 2
- Live Stream: DAZN
- PPV price: $69.99/ £24.99
Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley 2 will be available on DAZN worldwide.
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