Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley are gearing up for an all-British world title fight this weekend, and Dave Allen has made his pick for the winner.
Wardley is a man in form, having fought twice last year, both times by knockout. The first win came over Justis Huni, while the second was an even more impressive stoppage over former world champion Joseph Parker.
Dubois, meanwhile, has not fought since he was stopped for a second time by undisputed king Oleksandr Usyk last August. Before that, he had been in the form of his life with three straight KO victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua.
Speaking to his own YouTube Channel, Allen laid out the three key areas in the fight for the IBF title.
“This fight comes down to three things for me. One is the jab. If Dubois starts hitting Wardley early with the jab, which I envisage he will, he has a great jab. He hits most, and when he hits them with it, he tends to win. But Wardley, I dunno, he’s got a weird style about him, the way he moves, that could offset Dubois’s jab and if it does, Dubois could be in trouble.
“Two. Wardley’s tough, takes a good shot. Parker, Huni, Clarke, Gorman, all top-class fighters, don’t punch. Not really big punchers. They all punch hard enough, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not huge punchers. When Dubois hits, he is a top-class puncher, that will be interesting.
“And thirdly, if Wardley is still there after four or five, and it gets hard, will we get the Dubois from the Hrgovic fight or the Dubois from the Joyce or the Usyk fight? That’s what it comes down to. I think Dubois should get it done. He’ll be too good and will hit too hard, but I won’t be surprised at all if Wardley has too much for him, too much physicality and too much desire.”
Dubois is back with Don Charles for this fight, having briefly trained with Tony Sims. Charles and his team guided the Brit to his maiden world title and oversaw the most successful period of his career, so that could play a factor on Saturday night.
