Daniel Dubois successfully defended his WBO world title. In his rematch against Fabio Wardley, an early knockdown and a second round full of hard punches were all the British fighter needed.
Daniel Dubois (24-3, 23 KOs) needed significantly less time in his rematch with Fabio Wardley (20-2-1, 19 KOs) than in their first bout. At London’s O2 Arena, the 29-year-old defended his WBO heavyweight world title via technical knockout in the second round. Wardley went down for the first time just 17 seconds into the fight. Dubois had caught his compatriot with a hard right hand, setting the tone early on. Unlike in their first fight, when the champion himself was knocked down twice, this time he dictated the pace from the very start. Although Wardley got back to his feet, he could find almost no answer to the defending champion’s relentless offensive. Dubois consistently pressed the attack and landed more heavy blows.
Dubois remained the dominant fighter in the second round as well. The WBO champion pushed Wardley back and kept him under pressure with combinations. As his protégé took more and more blows, trainer Ben Davison decided to intervene and threw in the towel. Referee Steve Gray stopped the fight at 2:21 of the second round. This marked Dubois’s first successful defense of his WBO belt since winning the title in May. Back then, he hadn’t stopped Wardley until the eleventh round, after having been knocked down twice himself. This time, Dubois didn’t allow for any such drama. With his second early victory over Wardley, he solidifies his position at the top of the heavyweight division and positions himself for more major world title bouts.
Text by Robin Josten