Five months ago, it took Daniel Dubois eleven rounds to break through Fabio Wardley’s remarkably tough defenses. Tonight, he needed far less time: the main event of the Queensberry Promotions card staged by Frank Warren at London’s O2 Arena came to an end in the second round, when the challenger’s corner threw in the towel to save their fighter from the champion’s fury. Dubois thus retained his WBO world heavyweight title.
“DDD” needed very little time to find the opening he was looking for and land his dynamite right hand. The punch connected with the left side of Wardley’s chin, twisting his head at an unnatural angle. Such a blow would have sent many heavyweights into dreamland, but the tough fighter from Ipswich once again demonstrated his remarkable punch resistance, barely touching the canvas with one knee before getting back to his feet. Referee Steve Gray spotted what had happened and promptly stepped in to administer the mandatory count.
As the round continued, Wardley struggled to limit the damage, but shortly before the bell he was forced to absorb a devastating barrage of power punches that brought him to the brink of defeat, leaving the crowd with the distinct impression that the fight’s outcome was already inevitable.
That feeling was confirmed in the second round, as Dubois continued to apply relentless pressure, preventing the challenger from regaining the confidence he needed to get back into the contest. Constantly hunted down, Wardley looked nervous and awkward, unable to put together any meaningful offense beyond actions dictated purely by his survival instincts.
After landing a couple of dangerous right hands to the head, Dubois trapped his opponent in a corner and began unloading punches. Ben Davison, who had been fiercely criticized for failing to stop the first fight sooner, wasted no time on this occasion, throwing the towel into the ring as soon as he saw his fighter in trouble.
The winner was beaming as he faced the cameras for the customary post-fight interviews and warmly welcomed IBF world champion Filip Hrgovic into the ring. Hrgovic, whose only career defeat came at the hands of Dubois, openly challenged the British fighter tonight, proposing a rematch in March.
The evening’s promoter, Frank Warren, who currently represents a remarkably high proportion of the world’s leading heavyweights, refused to commit himself to any particular future matchups. He simply stated that next year would offer opportunities to stage several world title unification fights that would thrill boxing fans.
For his part, Wardley appeared clear-headed and composed as he reflected on his defeat, giving his opponent due credit and promising the fans that he would bounce back. In my preview of this rematch, I expressed serious doubts about the Ipswich fighter’s decision to exercise his rematch clause and face Dubois again so soon. What we witnessed tonight seems to suggest that those doubts were well-founded. Fabio now faces the difficult task of recovering psychologically from this setback and rebuilding his career.