At Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, Daniel Dubois defeated Fabio Wardley by stoppage in an incredible 11-round battle to become the WBO world heavyweight champion.
Defending champion Wardley started the fight on pace to be knocked down twice in the first three rounds, including one 10 seconds into the fight, but Dubois’ power was too much for Wardley as a dangerous right hook seriously damaged his bloodied opponent.
Dubois had Wardley rocking against the ropes in the sixth round and came close to winning by stoppage, but a flurry of punches in the second half forced referee Howard Foster to wave the fight off, deciding it in the 11th round.
“It was a war,” Mr. Dubois later said. “We have been through a difficult period. Fabio, thank you, thank you.
“Great fight, great fight, dude.”
He continued, “We’re going to move on. We want to grow from this fight, improve and reign as champions again.”
He ended with a roar, “Isn’t it fun? What a battle, what a warrior, thank you!”
Promoter Frank Warren later admitted that there was a rematch clause in the fight contract.
“These two guys showed great heart. Great heart. Great chin. It was a great fight,” Warren said. “It was crazy. It had everything, it was exciting. It was the best heavyweight fight I’ve ever had.”
Wardley vs. Dubois: What happened
Dubois bounced back in the second round after Wardley was knocked down less than 10 seconds into the opening round.
Dubois went into the fight hoping to bounce back from a second stoppage loss to triple world titleholder Oleksandr Usyk, but the night started out all too familiar as he was reportedly stuck in traffic on the way to the venue – a repeat of his infamous tardiness before his loss to the Ukrainian due to a pre-fight party.
But Wardley couldn’t start the night any faster, as the defending champion knocked Dubois down with a brutal right hook less than 10 seconds into the opening round.
Visibly shaken, Dubois returned to the fight and lunged at Wardley in the clinch, followed by two huge right hands to shift the momentum in his favor.
Dubois became enraged and tackled Wardley in the first round, knocking him to the ground.
The Londoner continued his strong recovery in the second round, landing a big right arch on Wardley against the ropes, but his opponent fought back with an incredible second knockdown in the third, causing Dubois to stumble to one knee and take eight seconds to get back to his feet.
Dubois, miraculously exhausted, fought back, landing a powerful one-two in the fourth round and slamming a right hook into Wardley’s left leg. The Ipswich Town superfan had never been taken down in 20 fights, but it looked like even he wouldn’t be able to stay on his feet for long as Dubois landed him a number of hooks and jabs to the head.
Wardley continued to flounder, missing his trademark right hand, and Dubois landed a bright left jab to the face. He came close to a stoppage victory in the sixth when he landed consecutive blows on his opponent, who was somehow still standing despite visible blood and severe injuries.
Wardley has never been knocked down in his professional career.
But the defending champion showed the resilience that brought him from “white collar” boxing to the top of the professional world when he landed a left jab to the face, making Dubois look vulnerable for the first time in multiple rounds.
Dubois, still dominant, continued to land blow after blow, but Wardley was unsteady on his feet and did not break his hip. He had a large cut on his nose and was examined, but the cut was not enough to stop the boxer from going to the ninth round.
The Londoner landed another brutal right hook on Wardley, who stumbled again but stood firm and responded with an uppercut of his own.
There was another check from the referee and his corner before the 10th round, but Wardley still did not surrender of his own accord. But that was all the resilient boxer could take, and a flurry of shots from Dubois at the start of the 11th round were deemed decisive by referee Howard Foster, forcing the bout to be stopped and ending Wardley’s reign as WBO titleholder.
titanic contest
Sky Sports’ John Dennen writes…
It was a contest of pure barbarity. It looked like he was going to unravel when Daniel Dubois was dropped into the seat of his shorts and handed a few right hands by Fabio Wardley just seconds into the match.
The questions that plagued him after his loss to Oleksandr Usyk and then his first career loss to Joe Joyce were suddenly being asked again.
If this visit to the canvas was due to a flash knockdown, old doubts about his temperament were given voice when he sank to his knees after another hard blow in the third round, then returned with a vengeance.
But he got up, regrouped, and as he did so, wordlessly, he found his answer. He answered Wardley, striking back at first roughly, then with precision, and always with brutal force.
Dubois continued to land right hooks on Wardley throughout.
Showing his fortitude, he began to analyze Wardley as Wardley landed a strong, solid, and quick jab that hurt the champion.
That’s when the power of his heavy right hand was at its fullest.
Despite Wardley’s unconventional career path from “white collar” boxer to professional world champion, he showed his physical qualities, his explosiveness and his instincts to take the lead in the early rounds.
But as Dubois began to dismantle him, Wardley was forced to rely on the grit that has been the hallmark of many of his top-level performances. He took many of Dubois’ incredible power punches, but still stubbornly refused to go down.
Wardley showed in his fights against Fraser Clarke, Justice Houni, and Joseph Parker that he is most dangerous when injured. But the qualities that won him many fans kept him in this fight for too long.
He had been beaten multiple times, his eyes were swollen, his nose was cut and damaged, and there was visible evidence of this.
After the break at the end of the ninth round, his legs were still shaking and he was unsteady on his feet. However, he was allowed to continue. He had to endure further punishment and a ferocious salvo from Dubois at the start of the 11th inning until the game was finally over.
There is no doubting Wardley’s toughness and determination. And if Dubois had any doubts about taking on this task, he also found his own answers.
