Dubois Destroys Wardley in Two Rounds, Eyes Heavyweight Unification Fights
Daniel Dubois successfully defended his WBO heavyweight world title after stopping Fabio Wardley in the second round of their rematch at The O2 Arena in London on Saturday.
Dubois produced a dominant performance to defeat his British rival just five months after their first encounter, in which he recovered from two knockdowns to stop Wardley in the 11th round and claim the championship.
The Londoner wasted little time in establishing his authority in the rematch, dropping Wardley within the opening seconds with a powerful right hand before continuing to apply pressure.
Wardley struggled to withstand Dubois’ relentless attack, with the champion coming close to forcing an early stoppage in the opening round.
Dubois resumed his assault in the second round, leaving Wardley’s corner with little choice but to throw in the towel, bringing the contest to an end and allowing the champion to retain his WBO heavyweight title.
Speaking after the victory, Dubois expressed confidence in his punching power and insisted that Wardley’s renowned ability to absorb punishment had not been enough to stop him.
“Fabio’s got a great chin. He’s known for taking punishment but I was going through him. I just had to pull myself back and reset. I want to know who’s next!” Dubois said.
Following his impressive title defence, Dubois has set his sights on unifying the heavyweight division by adding more world championship belts to his collection.
The champion said he was ready to face whoever was next in line, with a potential clash against WBC heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel among the possibilities discussed.
“I’ve heard talk about Kabayel but I’ll fight whoever’s next in line. Whoever pays the most cash,” Dubois said.
His promoter, Frank Warren, also expects heavyweight unification fights to gather momentum in 2027, with several champions seeking to establish themselves as the division’s leading fighter.
Warren believes the process of crowning an undisputed heavyweight champion could take approximately 18 months, although he expects at least one unification bout to take place in the first quarter of next year.
“The good thing about it is everybody wants to fight. They’re fighting men,” Warren said, stressing the importance of matching the best against one another.
Dubois has made it clear that his ultimate ambition is to collect all four major heavyweight world titles.
Beyond his plans for unification fights, Dubois has also expressed his willingness to face Oleksandr Usyk for a third time.
The Ukrainian has defeated Dubois on both previous occasions, stopping him in the ninth round of their 2023 encounter before knocking him out in the fifth round of their 2025 rematch.
However, following his emphatic victory over Wardley, Dubois believes he has improved sufficiently to reverse those results if another opportunity arises.
“Definitely, definitely, I’d love that,” Dubois said when asked about a potential trilogy fight with Usyk.
“We’re coming out on top this time. We’ve made our mistakes and we’re coming out on top.”
A third meeting would give Dubois another opportunity to challenge the Ukrainian, who has established himself as one of the leading heavyweight fighters of his era.
For now, the British champion’s immediate focus remains on the heavyweight division’s emerging unification contests as he looks to add further titles to his collection.
