Daniel Dubois retains WBO heavyweight title with second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley
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The gist
British WBO heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley in the second round in London to retain his title.
The quick win sets up unification talk and a possible rematch with IBF champion Filip Hrgovic.
Background
Daniel Dubois, a 29-year-old British heavyweight, is the WBO heavyweight champion and a former IBF champion. Fabio Wardley, 31, is the British former WBO champion who was promoted to the belt after Oleksandr Usyk vacated it. The fight was a rematch of their May bout, which Dubois won by 11th-round stoppage after being knocked down twice. The heavyweight division is described as fragmented, with multiple world champions and unification fights possible.
How it unfolded
- Jun 2024Dubois stopped Filip Hrgovic to take the interim IBF belt.
- Jul 2025Dubois lost the IBF title to Oleksandr Usyk in London.
- Nov 2025Wardley was promoted to WBO champion after Usyk vacated the title.
- May 2026Dubois beat Wardley in the 11th round in Manchester, coming back from two knockdowns, to take the WBO title.
- Oct 16, 2026Dubois weighed a career-heaviest 253.9lbs and Wardley 248.3lbs at the weigh-in at Spitalfields Market, London.
- Oct 17, 2026Dubois retained the WBO heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage of Wardley at the O2 Arena in London; Wardley was floored within 17 seconds of the opening bell and the towel was thrown in during the second round.
- Oct 17, 2026Hrgovic entered the ring after the fight to challenge Dubois.
Who’s saying what
- Champion
- Dubois said Wardley was "a great warrior, coming in for a second time, but it was my time and my era" and that he had "bad intentions, from the beginning".
- Challenger
- Hrgovic said it was "an easy night for Daniel" and asked whether Dubois is "ready to fight me in March".
- Caution
- Hrgovic said Wardley "should retire" after taking "a lot of damage in his last five [to] six fights".
- Promoter
- Frank Warren said "all those names are there to do a unification fight next year and that's what we'll be working on".
- Wardley
- Wardley said "there's no shame in testing yourself against the best" and that he will look to come again, as Dubois did.
Still unverified
Fury and Joshua are "reportedly set to earn close to $100m (£75m)" in December; a Fury-Joshua rematch is discussed only as a possibility.