Fabio Wardley will fight Daniel Dubois for a second time, having triggered his right to an immediate rematch following his KO loss in their first fight.
Wardley was defending the WBO belt he was awarded following his KO victory over Joseph Parker in October 2025. He started well and had former IBF ruler Dubois down in the first round, and then again in the third round.
After that, ‘DDD’ found his footing in the fight and began to control the centre ring, landing plenty of big shots that slowly wore down Wardley.
But when the 11th round came, Wardley had significant swelling around his eye, and after a barrage of punches the referee was forced to step in and halt proceedings. The pair will now do it all again in October, and Wardley will hope he can keep Dubois’s big shots at bay for longer.
Speaking to Seconds Out, former world champion David Haye explained the differences he thinks Wardley will make.
“Wardley is a very tough man. He’s big, tough, rough; he’s a warrior; we’ve seen that time and time again. Win or lose he’s laying it out on the line, so I think he will be ready in October, so if it’s to be, if he can hold it together, he’s got a chance.
“But Dubois looked solid last time out. He got dropped a couple of times so was able to weather the storm, but you’re going to get fireworks. Fabio is going to come with something more this time.
“He was throwing that massive overhand right that was nowhere near the target constantly. He’ll have watched the videos and thought, ‘what was I doing? I need to set up my backhand.’ I think it will be a lot closer.
“I don’t think Fabio will make the same novice mistake he was making the first time around. He just used his heart and physicality to get him to victory and you need a bit more than that, you need a bit of culture.”
Dubois is the more experienced fighter and is a two-time world champion with solid fundamentals, which is why many are picking him to get the job done for a second time.
