DUBOIS VS WARDLEY 2: REVENGE, REDEMPTION & A HEAVYWEIGHT WAR IN LONDON
One of the most highly anticipated rematches in recent boxing history takes centre stage in London this weekend as Daniel Dubois makes the first defence of his WBO World Heavyweight Title in his rematch with Fabio Wardley, just over five months on from their Fight of the Year contender in May.
With 40 stoppage wins from 46 fights going into the first clash between the pair, it was always going to be a firefight, and that’s exactly what it turned out to be, with Dubois having to rally twice to claim an 11th-round TKO victory over the battered then-champion Fabio Wardley.
To say it was a fight for the ages would probably be an understatement, and in the second instalment of this great rivalry, we are expecting much of the same.
In terms of how the first fight went, we don’t expect this to pan out in a similar fashion.
The reigning champion Wardley started fast. He dropped Dubois twice in the first three rounds, but following that early success, he almost became the architect of his own downfall.
He neglected the boxing fundamentals and was just loading up, looking for that one big punch to end the fight.
Despite throwing more punches in the first three rounds, through six rounds, Wardley had landed just 50 of his 203 punches compared to Dubois, who had landed over double that amount, with 104 of his 223 punches connecting.
It’s a damning stat, but one that highlights just where Wardley went wrong.
The lack of head movement from the reigning champion at the time was worrying, and his feet didn’t look anywhere near as good as they had in previous fights. The state of his face started to tell the story the longer the fight went, and ultimately, the referee stepped in during the 11th round to wave the fight off, with Wardley pretty much out on his feet.
If there’s one thing you cannot question about Fabio Wardley, it’s his toughness. He may well be the toughest heavyweight on the planet with one of the best chins, but that first fight almost certainly put some serious miles on his clock.
For him to win this rematch, he needs to learn from the first fight, and going off his history in rematches, that’s something he’s more than capable of doing.
He managed a controversial draw against Frazer Clarke back in 2024, and then in their rematch seven months later, he got the job done inside a round.
This time out, he needs to be patient. He knows he can drop Dubois and badly hurt him because he’s done it twice before.
Even though Dubois has the better amateur background, with Wardley coming from a white-collar background, technically, Wardley is a much better boxer than people probably give him credit for.
If he starts fast and hurts Dubois in the early rounds again, he needs to get behind that ramrod jab and look to break his arch-nemesis down. Don’t load up looking for one big shot. Be clever, show high ring IQ, don’t rush your work and systematically break the reigning champion down.
By doing this, his lateral movement will improve, and even though he didn’t hit the deck in the first fight, at times it felt like Dubois was landing every punch he threw. This is backed up by the fact that, throughout the whole fight, he landed nearly half of the punches he threw.
It isn’t as though we saw the best Fabio Wardley in the first fight and he’s going to need to improve massively to even have a chance of winning this rematch. It’s about small alterations, alterations that someone of his ability should be able to make relatively easily.
Whether he does or not, we’ll find out on Saturday night.
For Dubois, he needs to start quicker.
You could make an argument that he got lucky in the first fight, with Wardley going completely off his game plan and not having the ring generalship to get the job done.
Dubois showed his toughness in the first fight, and he’s going to need to show it again here because this will undoubtedly be a much better Fabio Wardley standing across the ring from him than the one he faced in the first fight.
He cannot afford to let Wardley grow in confidence and get into his rhythm because if the challenger causes him the same problems as he did in the first fight, it’s likely that he won’t let him off the hook this time.
One thing that Dubois has improved massively in recent outings is his footwork. He’s much lighter on his toes now, and instead of planting his front foot to land that rock-solid jab of his, he’s flicking it, then stabbing it, mixing up the intensity of it.
If he can do that to the head and body and keep Wardley guessing, then he’s going to make it seriously hard work for his opponent on Saturday night to build any momentum. Wardley may end up reverting to type, like he did in that first fight, and looking to land one big punch to end the contest.
There’s one heck of a big carrot being dangled by Frank Warren for the winner, with the Hall of Fame promoter already talking up a potential unification MEGA FIGHT between the winner of this contest and the winner of Fury vs Joshua in December.
Now that would be EPIC.
It’s certainly an intriguing fight for many reasons, but one thing that is guaranteed is that it’ll be entertaining, and as is the case with the majority of fights featuring either of these two, there will be plenty of blood.
On the undercard, there are a couple of cracking contests.
The undefeated Louie O’Doherty defends his British and Commonwealth Lightweight Titles against the in-form Mikey Gomez Jnr, who’s on an impressive two-fight stoppage streak after wins over both Jordan Flynn and Lee McGregor in his last two fights.
Sol Dacres will look to make it back-to-back upset victories over undefeated opposition when he takes on two-time Olympic gold medallist Bakhodir Jalolov in a more than winnable fight for the former GB Podium Squad member.
Three cracking fights to headline the card, with three potential big upsets. Do not miss it!