The WBO heavyweight world title fight scheduled for May 9 between champion Fabio Wardley and challenger Daniel Dubois, according to the latest reports, is set to take place in front of a full house. The bout will be held at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, which has a capacity of about 23,500 seats, and ticket sales are moving rapidly toward a sellout.
Wardley was named the new champion by the federation led by Gustavo Olivieri when the previous titleholder Oleksandr Usyk chose to decline the invitation to face the English puncher. The fighter from Ipswich, who had just captured the Interim title thanks to an exciting victory over Joseph Parker, therefore obtained the coveted belt without having to win it in the ring.
Dubois, on the other hand, is coming off a heavy knockout defeat, precisely at the hands of the aforementioned Usyk, who stopped him in five rounds last summer at Wembley Stadium. On that occasion “DDD” adopted an extremely aggressive approach, but in doing so he exposed himself to his opponent’s deadly counters and ended up paying the price.
If the excellent figures regarding the expected attendance are confirmed, the claim circulated by The Ring would be dramatically disproved. According to that report, promoter Frank Warren had filed his lawsuit against the Saudi company Sela because of alleged financial difficulties and slow ticket sales for the British derby on May 9.
Authoritative experts and analysts had harshly criticized that statement because of the unprofessional tone in which it was written. The suspicion shared by many is that the official accounts of The Ring are now openly engaging in propaganda by echoing the will and views of the magazine’s owner, Turki Alalshikh.
It is not surprising, however, that the fight between Wardley and Dubois has sparked the curiosity of boxing fans in the United Kingdom. It is in fact a potentially explosive and entertaining clash between two heavy-handed fighters with a distinctly offensive style. In all likelihood, it should be a lot of fun.