Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley go again on October 17 at The O2 in London, ten days out from a rematch that barely needed selling. Their first fight, an eleven-round war at Co-op Live in Manchester back in May, is already being talked about as one of the finest heavyweight title fights in years. Wardley dropped Dubois twice inside the opening three rounds, only for the Londoner to grind his way back and stop the champion in the eleventh, his nose split open and his right eye swollen shut by the finish. Wardley activated his rematch clause almost immediately, and Queensberry wasted little time confirming the second meeting, announcing it from ringside during the Filip Hrgovic versus Moses Itauma card at the same venue in August.
A Brutal First Instalment
Referee Howard Foster’s stoppage in Manchester settled the WBO title in Dubois’s favour, but it did little to settle the argument between the two men. Dubois improved to 23-3 that night, while Wardley’s unbeaten record disappeared, leaving him 20-1-1. What made the fight so compelling was how little separated the two in the trenches: Wardley’s power nearly finished the job early, and Dubois’s recovery, built on the back of a phone booth-style sustained assault, was the difference. Both camps agree that whoever adjusts fastest from that blueprint on October 17 wins the rematch.
Wardley’s Zero Excuses
At the official launch press conference in September, Wardley was unusually candid about what went wrong the first time. “I have absolutely zero excuses for the loss on the night and I have absolutely zero excuses going into the rematch,” he said, before explaining how his own knockdowns worked against him. “I felt a bit too comfortable, maybe. With a really early knockdown, then followed by another one in the third, I kind of really relaxed into the fight.” He described getting “trigger happy” chasing a single right hand instead of pressing home the advantage, and has promised to be far more ruthless the moment Dubois is hurt this time, rather than allow him the room to recover that proved so costly in Manchester.
Dubois Chasing a Legacy
Dubois, for his part, is in no mood to hand back the initiative. Asked about Wardley’s planned adjustments, he was dismissive: “They won’t work against me. Can make all the changes he wants, I’ll have an answer for everything he does.” The 27-year-old has started talking in grander terms about his career since becoming a two-time world champion, calling himself boxing’s “uncrowned king” of the heavyweight division and framing Wardley as merely the opening chapter of a run at full unification. Whether that confidence survives another twelve rounds with a fighter who hurt him as badly as Wardley did in May is the question the whole card is built around.
Chisora’s Blunt Prediction
Derek Chisora, who has shared a ring with both heavyweights, was asked for his verdict and saw little reason to expect a different script. “I don’t know why we are having a rematch, the fight will be the same,” he said. “That nose is going to open up again.” It is a prediction that will needle Wardley more than most, given how much of his own build-up has centred on proving he will not repeat the mistakes that let Dubois off the hook last time.
What’s at Stake on October 17
The rematch arrives into a heavyweight picture still scattered in the wake of Oleksandr Usyk’s retirement, with Agit Kabayel holding the WBC belt, Murat Gassiev the WBA strap and Filip Hrgovic the IBF title after beating Itauma in August. Dubois’s WBO championship is the only one of the four currently tied to a genuine domestic blockbuster, and a win keeps him on course for the kind of unification fights he has been talking up all autumn. The undercard is filling out around the main event, with Louie O’Doherty defending his British and Commonwealth lightweight titles against Michael Gomez Jnr, and unbeaten Uzbek heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov facing Solomon Dacres. Tickets for The O2 go on sale with the fight now ten days away, and DAZN will carry it live.
