Daniel Dubois Defeated Fabio Wardley to Become a Two Time Champion; Wardley Activates His Rematch Clause
By Eddie Sanchez
Despite dropping Dubois twice in their WBO heavyweight world title fight, Wardley was stopped in the 11th round of an epic battle in Manchester on Saturday night
From the jump, this fight screamed classic after Wardley dropped Dubois with a huge overhand right a mere 10 seconds into the fight. It was fair for most fans to question if Dubois simply didn’t have what it takes, but he got up and kept moving.
In round three, Wardley once again tagged the former champion, ultimately forcing him to take a knee after eating a huge right hand. But this was the last true moment of dominance from Fabio.
Dubois, who ate some clean shots from Wardley, went on to assert himself for the majority of the fight.
By round nine, he had inflicted so much damage to Wardley that the end looked inevitable, despite Fabio continuing to move forward and trade.
At the beginning of round 11, Dubois once again came out aggressively and tagged the champion with two vicious right hands that prompted the referee on duty to mercifully call the fight.
And once more, Dubois is champion.
“I think that was, for me, being involved in this business … This is my 48th year, it was humbling to watch these two guys,” Warren said. “It was just amazing, an amazing spectacle, the crowd, atmosphere, everything about it was just great.”
Wardley had Psalm 144:1 embroidered on the shimmering blue robe he wore to the ring. “Praise be to the lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.”
And what a battle the FOTY contender was!
FOTY Contender’s Rematch Clause is Activated by Wardley
Promoter Frank Warren confirmed to Sky Sports that a rematch clause had been put in place and Wardley has now enforced a return bout with Dubois, which is expected to take place later this year.
Wardley, the now former champ, indicated his preferences to Sky Sports by saying:
“The boxing world knows my character, and Saturday night proved that without a shred of doubt. It was a fight for the ages, but I made some mistakes that I will rectify in the rematch. Congratulations to Daniel, but I’m coming for you… and my belt.”
“All parties will now work towards a rematch of their fight of the year contender for later in 2026,” claims Warren.
And fans should be happy bout this. The immediate future of the heavyweight division looks bright.
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