Daniel Dubois didn’t have to dole out an extended beating this time around, as he bashed his way through Fabio Wardley in today’s rematch, scoring a second round TKO win to retain the WBO heavyweight title.
Back in May, Dubois (24-3, 23 KO) was down twice in the first three rounds, but was otherwise dominant and put a game but battered Wardley away in the 11th round.
This time around, Dubois put Wardley down very early, within about 15 or 20 seconds, and there just wasn’t anything big coming back from Wardley, who looked like he knew he was just over-matched in a second go with Dubois.
It was Wardley (20-2-1, 19 KO) exercising his rematch clause that made this fight happen at all, and no one will question his bravery or toughness. Many will question his decision to try and run this back five months after a brutal beating, and had been as soon as the idea of him exercising the clause came up in May.
But Wardley refused to blame it on the short turnaround, saying that wasn’t the problem “at all.”
“I didn’t execute the game plan properly, that’s all. I’ll hold my hands up, it’s entirely up to myself. It’s me in the ring, there’s no blame to be passed around. When I win, it’s on me, as well. We’ll go back to the drawing board.”
Wardley also said he would look to Dubois for some inspiration: “Daniel’s a testament to coming up short and coming again, and hopefully I’ll do the same,” Wardley said. “It just didn’t work for me tonight. It’s down to me and myself, and a credit to Daniel for how well he’s prepared. It’s a game of fine margins.”
Filip Hrgovic wants rematch with Daniel Dubois
IBF heavyweight champ Filip Hrgovic was also in attendance, and joined the post-fight proceedings in the ring, declaring his obvious interest in his own rematch with Dubois, which as things stand now would be a two-belt unification.
Promoter Frank Warren reminded Hrgovic that he has to make a mandatory defense, likely at home in Croatia, but that Dubois vs Hrgovic 2 could happen next week. Hrgovic seems deeply uinterested in making his mandatory defense, but also the IBF title is what gives him any leverage to get a fight like a Dubois rematch.
Dubois stopped Hrgovic back in 2024 in Riyadh, which the interviewer seemed to think was the other way around when she asked Dubois if he needed to “right a wrong” by facing Hrgovic again, which seemed to confuse Dubois — reasonably! — and he politely moved on.
Warren’s current plan is to work toward an undisputed heavyweight champion in 2027, because people are still buying the marketing that combining four belts of questionable value is the great solution, not just not having four belts in the first place. But it’s all just sort of an endlessly spinning sphere of grifting, and will continue on that way.