Dubois–Wardley II: Can Wardley Turn the Tables?

London, England, UK - Fabio Wardley put Daniel Dubois on the floor twice in Manchester and still left without his WBO heavyweight title. Five months later, he gets another chance. He also has a much clearer idea of what he is up against.

Dubois and Wardley meet again on Saturday, October 17, at The O2 in London, live on DAZN. Dubois enters at 23–3 (22 KOs); Wardley is 20–1–1 (19 KOs).

The attraction needs little selling. Their first fight on May 9 was a ferocious affair: Wardley struck almost immediately, dropped Dubois again in the third, then found himself taking an increasingly one-sided beating before Howard Foster stopped it in Round 11.

Wardley needs more than the right hand

Wardley knows he can hurt Dubois. The problem came when he started looking for the same finish over and over. Dubois settled behind his jab, made the right hand harder to land and began putting punches together. Wardley kept firing back, but he was spending too much of the fight in front of a man who was beating him to the punch.

At the rematch launch, Wardley admitted becoming “trigger-happy” after the early knockdowns. That is a useful starting point. He needs his own jab, changes of pace and a way out after throwing, rather than staying there for Dubois’s reply. Landing a big right is one thing; keeping control after it lands is another.

There is also the question of what that first defeat took out of him. Wardley absorbed heavy punishment in May. Wanting the rematch immediately tells us plenty about his confidence. How well he handles Dubois’s pressure again will tell us more.

Dubois cannot give him another head start

Dubois has the stronger evidence behind him. Once he found his rhythm, his jab and straight punches gave Wardley problems that the challenger never properly solved. He does not need another dramatic comeback to prove he can win this fight.

“I’ll finish it quicker this time,” Dubois says in the DAZN face-off above. His trainer is less interested in promises. Don Charles told Queensberry’s countdown show that they must cut out the errors that left Dubois vulnerable, warning that Wardley will be dangerous again.

Dubois is the pick here, provided he gets to work early and keeps his punches straight. Wardley’s power makes a repeat of May’s opening entirely possible. His task is to show he can win the fight that follows it.

Dubois–Wardley II: the event

The WBO heavyweight title is on the line over 12 rounds. Bakhodir Jalolov faces Solomon Dacres in the heavyweight support bout, while Louie O’Doherty meets Michael Gomez Jr. for the British and Commonwealth lightweight titles.

For the latest card, ticket and viewing information, visit our Dubois–Wardley II fight page.