Fabio Wardley is finalizing the terms of his WBO heavyweight title defense against Daniel Dubois on May 9th.
WBO champion Wardley will make his first defense of the belt against Dubois in a major all-British bout at a UK venue, the details of which are yet to be determined.
Wardley was named the new WBO titleholder after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the belt in exchange for a mandatory title defense against the undefeated Brit.
The Ipswich boxer had previously won the interim WBO belt after stopping Joseph Parker in 11 rounds at the O2 in October.
Dubois reunited with trainer Don Charles in hopes of reclaiming his world title after suffering a knockout loss to Usyk in a rematch at Wembley in July.
The London native defended his IBF belt with a dramatic knockout win over Anthony Joshua last September.
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Andy Scott of Sky Sports News has praised Fabio Wardley following the news that he has been crowned the new WBO champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title.
Wardley’s manager Mike Ofo told Sky Sports last week: “Fabio wanted a fight with Oleksandr Usyk after beating Joseph Parker, but he chose to go after Deontay Wilder instead. That fight fell through and Fabio wants a unification fight with Usyk for all the belts.”
“We were following the fight against Chisora or Wilder on April 4 and they have fallen into each other’s arms and as you can see from the press, they are acting like lovers. But boxing is a tough sport and we wish them all the best for the future.”
“As for Daniel Dubois, Fabio obviously has high expectations for this fight. There’s nothing like an all-British showdown for the world heavyweight title!”
Asked about the Wardley vs. Dubois fight, promoter Frank Warren told Sky Sports: “We’re talking to Fabio about a lot of things and we’re also talking to Daniel.”
“No matter what happens, we both have to fight, we both want to fight and we will continue to fight.
“So they will probably be fighting in late April, early May.”
Watch Caroline Dubois vs Terry Harper live on Sky Sports on Sunday 5th April
