Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois | DAZN PPV - 9 May 2026

[Lightsoot]

I think Dubois will beat Wardley convincingly. He’s quicker than Fabio’s previous opponents and hits way harder. Plus Dubois has beaten a higher calibre of opponent, aside from an in-form Parker.

Whilst Dubois is fragile, he’s levels above Wardley. Unless Daniel is a rabbit in the headlights and gets blitzed early, I can see him smashing Wardley to bits inside 6 rounds. A 50-50 fight, but one where we’ll see a one-sided outcome.

Delighted this fight has been made though. Kudos to the boxers and everyone involved.

[rhino222]

Im with you mate, i think its Dubois fight to lose. Wardley will never have been hit so hard and I can see the ref stopping him on his feet in 4 or 5 rounds. But we know Wardley is a gutsy mo fo and will go out on his shield.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Im with you mate, i think its Dubois fight to lose. Wardley will never have been hit so hard and I can see the ref stopping him on his feet in 4 or 5 rounds. But we know Wardley is a gutsy mo fo and will go out on his shield.

He's more dangerous when it's a trade fight

[paultom]

Im with you mate, i think its Dubois fight to lose. Wardley will never have been hit so hard and I can see the ref stopping him on his feet in 4 or 5 rounds. But we know Wardley is a gutsy mo fo and will go out on his shield.

Also Dubois will have been hit less hard in the past and either gone down multiple times or got stopped, it's a great fight and sure to catch fire straight away

[Ruthless-RKO]

FFS!!


21st century .. Bruno!!!!



Forget ego he was fighting to

[Kilburn]

I wouldn’t be betting a penny on this fight, god knows what will happen.

Wardley may be the more reliable but did draw with Clarke once, got outboxed by Huni, and the ref jumping in vs Parker while Fabio was unloading the kitchen sink seemed to pss a lot of people off.

Dubois tends to do pretty well against guys he can hit.

Very hard to pick a winner, maybe Wardley just.

[joshj909]

I wouldn’t be betting a penny on this fight, god knows what will happen.

Wardley may be the more reliable but did draw with Clarke once, got outboxed by Huni, and the ref jumping in vs Parker while Fabio was unloading the kitchen sink seemed to pss a lot of people off.

Dubois tends to do pretty well against guys he can hit.

Very hard to pick a winner, maybe Wardley just.

The only sure thing is a knockdown

[Taansend]

WHOSE, Boxingshrew, not Who Is.

[KiwiRider]

WHOSE, Boxingshrew, not Who Is.

When people (like me) say Dubois has no ring IQ, you only have to listen to him answer any questions that are not on his rehearsal sheets. The guy is, to use his own words; urrrrrrrr.....

[Taansend]

Someone said beforeon here that they think he's autistic. I, obviously, have no idea if he is but he's definitely awkward.

[gilgamesh]

WHOSE, Boxingshrew, not Who Is.

When people (like me) say Dubois has no ring IQ, you only have to listen to him answer any questions that are not on his rehearsal sheets. The guy is, to use his own words; urrrrrrrr.....

It's even kinda how he fights. Me strong. Punch hard.

And if things start going wrong for him "Oh sh*t. Him strong too"

Very entertaining from bell to bell though you gotta give him that. I can't recall any boring Daniel Dubois fights. He's like Frank Bruno in the ring, but doesn't have the personality outside it.

[KiwiRider]

WHOSE, Boxingshrew, not Who Is.

When people (like me) say Dubois has no ring IQ, you only have to listen to him answer any questions that are not on his rehearsal sheets. The guy is, to use his own words; urrrrrrrr.....

It's even kinda how he fights. Me strong. Punch hard.

And if things start going wrong for him "Oh sh*t. Him strong too"

Very entertaining from bell to bell though you gotta give him that. I can't recall any boring Daniel Dubois fights. He's like Frank Bruno in the ring, but doesn't have the personality outside it.

Definitely entertaining, wish he would fight more regularly. I think he is a good measuring stick like Joseph Parker. Beat either and your second tier ready to face the champ. He could fill the boots of Chisora if he wanted, and Chisora made a ton of money.

[gilgamesh]

Yeah. You don't want to put him in too many fights in a row where he can't win them though or it may shatter his confidence, and make him into just an opponent. If he takes an L against Wardley I think he'd be well served to fight a bunch of soft touches for about a year just to put together a solid winning streak, and get his mojo back a little.

Of course he may just beat Wardley, and have his mojo back in a big way

[MightyWarrior]

Dan seems to have ADHD: constantly distracted can’t focus etc - then he’s got a controlling slightly wacko dad who “homeschooled” him, and you can just imagine how great that was ..

That’s a lot to contend with. No wonder he finds it so difficult dealing with all these idiot interviewers, and I’ve seen some pretty bad ones this week ( What’s the best thing about being a boxer? What’s the worst thing about being a boxer? )

[Ruthless-RKO]

Either he needs some media training or he shouldn’t do interviews at all.

It’s always awkward

[Ruthless-RKO]

Wardley blasts Dubois for lacking accountability with trainer switch

Fabio Wardley accused Daniel Dubois of lacking accountability following more upheaval behind the scenes.

The WBO heavyweight champion puts his belt on the line against Dubois at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena this Saturday night in one of the most anticipated all-British fights of the year.

Now Wardley has questioned his opponent's approach to training after leaving Don Charles for Tony Sims only to perform a U-turn just five months later.

“It does seem very chaotic,” Wardley said of the situation during a media roundtable in London.

“It seems unsettled and doesn’t seem like the best course of action. It also seems to me like a lack of accountability. Because whenever there is a fight you lose or something goes wrong, you immediately blame the trainer, leave that trainer and find another one.

“Maybe it is you. Maybe you didn’t listen, didn’t train or didn’t do something. I think the default to look outward and blame someone is quite telling.”

Dubois’ decision to leave Charles came after being knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium in July thus surrendering his IBF title to the Ukrainian great, two years following their first meeting.

Although the relationship was short-lived, Sims became the fourth trainer of Dubois' nine-year career after spells with Martin Bowers, Shane McGuigan and then Charles.

“Obviously it makes no odds to me and I couldn’t care less to be honest. One trainer, two trainers or no trainer—I couldn’t care," Wardley said.

“Daniel is good, very good but with all these different trainers, he hasn’t really changed.

“Stylistically he hasn’t changed and the way he approaches things hasn’t really changed, he might have some different little things, but there’s been no overhaul or difference at all.

“It’s not like there’s a new trainer and I’m going to get there on the night and be like, ‘wow, who is this? This is a whole new Daniel Dubois.’ It’s not going to be like that at all.

“He is who he is and fights how he fights. They will tweak little bits along the way but I don’t think a change of trainer has a massive effect on him like it does for some people.”

Wardley also believes that Dubois has been unable to truly change his ability to “capitulate” in fights.

The Londoner received criticism after he was stopped by Joe Joyce in November 2020 and then by Usyk in their first fight in August 2023 given the nature of both defeats.

He was accused of “quitting” by many in both fights because he appeared able to get up while on one knee, only to decide to stay down and not beat the referee’s count.

Dubois’ long-time promoter allegedly says the fighter put all of that noise behind him with his victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua but Wardley says it is a habit that has not gone away.

He said: “It’s not necessarily something new. We knew that before from the Joe Joyce fight. Even if it never happened in the Usyk fight and it only happened once in the Joyce fight, I would still know it is there. I would still know it is in him to capitulate and back out. So, it is just more evidence on top of something I already saw there.

“That is the contrast between us; If it is not going his way, he nose dives and if it is not going my way, I stay the course, stay focused on track and I think that is evidence of the difference in our mentality.”

[2111228]

I don’t know if this fight will become a classic, but in terms of the fighters’ profiles, it is definitely a typical heavyweight bout. Wardley’s hands are fast for a heavyweight, and he has finishing power worthy of his division, but he lacks consistency when it comes to applying pressure. His footwork is problematic. Wardley prefers fewer but more effective punches rather than throwing combinations, and he is not mentally fragile. His mental state is much calmer and stronger than Dubois’s. One of Wardley’s biggest issues is that he gives in to jab range, and when he gets hit, he clearly shows it.

Dubois is a fighter who shares some similarities with Wardley: aggression, knockout power, etc. However, in this particular fight, Dubois’s only advantages will be his more developed boxing fundamentals and his experience. I expect a Dubois knockout between rounds 6 and 8. This fight will not go the distance. If Dubois cannot knock his opponent out between rounds 6 and 8, the momentum will shift in Wardley’s favor. With his strong, unbreakable mentality and knockout power, Wardley will achieve victory by knocking Dubois out between rounds 9 and 10. This fight excites me. I can’t wait to record an analysis podcast about it on my channel.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Wardley, Dubois on their Peacock Gym 'tear-up' sparring sessions

There is an unwritten rule that what happens in sparring, stays in sparring but both Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois were happy to discuss what went down when they first collided behind closed doors.

The pair are set to fight for real in Manchester on Saturday night, live on DAZN, but there were no broadcast cameras present nearly nine years ago when they first sparred at east London’s old Peacock Gym.

They had both made their professional debuts on the same night, April 8, 2017, but Dubois was the far more experienced boxer given his amateur pedigree. Wardley, with only four white-collar bouts to his name before turning professional, was very green by comparison.

But he was doing his learning on the job and had no trouble travelling to London from his home in Ipswich in search of elite sparring partners. Dubois, who has since gone on to win the world heavyweight title, fitted into that bracket.

“I am not here to lie,” Wardley begins, when asked to reflect on those spars with Dubois, three years his junior.

“I have got no qualms in saying he punched me up but I would beg him not to take anything from that spar and carry that through to now because that was a guy had barely boxed against someone who had an amateur career, junior champion, GB champion, this and all the others.

“Whereas I put on the gloves a few weeks ago and thought ‘yeah let’s have a move around with Daniel Dubois.’

“I wasn’t nervous, I knew it would be a tough spar but I always kind of relished it and enjoyed the challenge it because it was about getting a bit better by a minor increment.

“I would come out of sparing and think ‘cor I only got punched up 15 times but that was two less than last week,’ and that was fine. I didn’t care and wasn’t like score keeping and thinking I had to win.

“I went into it knowing that currently he is better than me and I’ve got no problem with that, I’m trying to get better and the only way to do that is to compete with people better than me.

“There is no point me staying in my little old white collar gym and smashing up Steve who comes in every other week and thinking I am the man. For me, at that stage of my career, my mentality was to get around, spar everyone as much as possible and gain as much experience as you can.”

For Dubois, who challenges Wardley for his WBO heavyweight title on Saturday night, he also felt well in control against the relative novice from Suffolk.

At the time, Dubois was spending a lot of time sparring all comers in the Peacock as he attempted to make the transition from a highly-touted amateur with only a handful of senior bouts to a professional capable of mixing it with men.

During a media round table, Dubois said: “It was years back. I dominated him in the spars back then. I was dominating him, but I understand things change, he’s come on since then obviously. I'm looking for the best version of him and I'll be the best version for sure.

“Credit to him, he’s beating all the guys that he’s faced. You’ve got to take your hat off to that. He’s wanted the biggest challenges and he’s taken them on and I respect him for that.

“When we sparred we were in some good old tear-ups, but I was the one in charge and I'm going to be doing it again. It will be the same story and I'll be a two-time champion of the world.”

The bookmakers can barely split the two, who meet at the top of the Queensberry event titled "Don’t Blink" due to the explosive nature of the main event.

They share a knockout ratio of 95 per cent and the last time either of them won a fight on points was back in 2018.
So was Dubois the biggest puncher that Wardley has sparred?

“He was definitely up there as one of the big punchers I was in with, but there were a lot I was sharing the ring with at that time,” he responds.

“There was Derek Chisora, there was Dillian Whyte, there was him, there was Filip Hrgovic. It wasn’t like Daniel was a stand-out, it was just known that he was pretty solid and could whack a bit.

“There were even cruiserweights, I remember sparring Richard Riakporhe, he could whack and I remember him cracking me as well and I was thinking, ‘Jesus, some of these boys can proper hit,’ but again, that was seven or eight years ago.

“It was probably some of it was due to how green I was, me taking shots and not even moving, taking it straight to the dome and that would rack my brain a bit!”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Wardley vs Dubois tickets: How to buy last-minute seats for heavyweight title fight

[tony1234]

I just noticed that Virgin are doing the get a month of DAZN if you buy the PPV from them so that will be the Allen fight included so worth it for me

[Ruthless-RKO]

[golden_labrador]

I wouldn’t be betting a penny on this fight, god knows what will happen.

Wardley may be the more reliable but did draw with Clarke once, got outboxed by Huni, and the ref jumping in vs Parker while Fabio was unloading the kitchen sink seemed to pss a lot of people off.

Dubois tends to do pretty well against guys he can hit.

Very hard to pick a winner, maybe Wardley just.

same. no idea what will happen, but I'm thinking of Fab's previous cuts being a factor.

I'm leaning towards Dubois getting the job done but Wardley has come far with his KO power.

[JamesPhilips]

I wouldn’t be betting a penny on this fight, god knows what will happen.

Wardley may be the more reliable but did draw with Clarke once, got outboxed by Huni, and the ref jumping in vs Parker while Fabio was unloading the kitchen sink seemed to pss a lot of people off.

Dubois tends to do pretty well against guys he can hit.

Very hard to pick a winner, maybe Wardley just.

same. no idea what will happen, but I'm thinking of Fab's previous cuts being a factor.

I'm leaning towards Dubois getting the job done but Wardley has come far with his KO power.

Wardley has a tremendous will to win and serious heart. I know boxing doesn’t work this simply but Lerena bouncing Dubois all over the shop doesn’t bode well plus Daniel seems rattled in the build up and his body looks puffy.

[golden_labrador]

I wouldn’t be betting a penny on this fight, god knows what will happen.

Wardley may be the more reliable but did draw with Clarke once, got outboxed by Huni, and the ref jumping in vs Parker while Fabio was unloading the kitchen sink seemed to pss a lot of people off.

Dubois tends to do pretty well against guys he can hit.

Very hard to pick a winner, maybe Wardley just.

same. no idea what will happen, but I'm thinking of Fab's previous cuts being a factor.

I'm leaning towards Dubois getting the job done but Wardley has come far with his KO power.

Wardley has a tremendous will to win and serious heart. I know boxing doesn’t work this simply but Lerena bouncing Dubois all over the shop doesn’t bode well plus Daniel seems rattled in the build up and his body looks puffy.

the Lerena fight was a weird one - maybe Dubois wasn't expecting the little guy to bang. he's lucky he was the hometown fighter otherwise it might have been waved off. anyway, I'm hoping Wardley wins

[Ruthless-RKO]

DANIEL DUBOIS OUT TO 'GET GIRLFRIEND BACK,' BRING THE PAIN TO WARDLEY

Daniel Dubois is discussing the feeling of losing the world heavyweight title last year.

“It’s just one of those things,” he says before pausing to find the right words. “It's like a relationship ending, and you know how you feel when you end a relationship?

“But I'm looking to get my girlfriend back. You make some mistakes and the relationship doesn't work out and then you've got to start again.”

For Dubois, that break-up happened under the stars at Wembley Stadium on July 19 at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch of their 2023 clash. As far as second dates go, this was about as bad as it gets.

Usyk, who held The Ring, WBO, WBA and WBC titles that night, reclaimed the IBF strap via a fifth-round knockout of Dubois to cap what was his most destructive performance at heavyweight yet. For the 28-year-old Dubois it was a miserable trudge back to the dressing room inside the national stadium.

Soon after, the inquest began. He quickly left trainer Don Charles to try something new with Tony Sims while suggestions that a pre-fight party had taken his eye off the ball were quickly batted away.

But for Dubois, who suffered the third stoppage loss of his career that night, there was no soul-searching required. When asked what he did to shake off the Usyk loss he said: “Nothing really.

“I think I fought against the best fighter of a generation, so I'm not really down or nothing, I’m just thinking about how we move forward and about a lot of personal things. I've got to go back to the drawing board and come again. I feel like we’re going to get it right this time though, with the training and how everything is going to be perfect, I just have a feeling.

“It’s just a process and, to be honest, I was straight back on it and looking to line up who’s next, watching the heavyweight division and seeing who’s going to be next and I'm glad I've got this opportunity.”

As it happened, a day before Valentine's Day, it was confirmed that Dubois would get an immediate chance to rekindle his relationship with the world heavyweight title via a shot at Fabio Wardley. The pair meet for Wardley’s WBO belt in Manchester on Saturday night.

“I was elated when I heard the news,” Dubois added. “This is my chance from God, he’s given me this opportunity and I can’t let myself down or my team down and this is the time to dig deeper than ever before.

“I feel like the luckiest guy in boxing. It’s just one after the other, and I've been grateful to my promoter allegedly, my dad, and the support network I have around me for maneuvering me to keep my spirits high so that we can come again.”

Like Usyk, the defending champion is undefeated but that is where the comparisons stop. The Ukrainian is a master southpaw technician, who honed his craft during years as an elite amateur while former white collar puncher Wardley learned it all on the job.

“Listen, Usyk is a great southpaw, great champion and Fabio is nothing like him,” Dubois said.

“Usyk is southpaw whereas I'm going to have answers for Fabio. He might try southpaw in the fight but I'm experienced now I've faced Usyk twice, I've faced Anthony Joshua, I've faced all these great fighters, I've got that experience on my side. I love fighting punchers and guys that are like that. Bring it on.”

Although Dubois has faced the likes of Usyk, Joshua and Filip Hrgovic over the course of his 25-fight career, there is an argument that Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) is the most devastating puncher he will have encountered.

The Ipswich man’s last 19 victories have come via knockout, a run which stretches back to his debut, which ended in a four-round points win over Jakub Wojcik at York Hall, Bethnall Green on April 8, 2017. On the very same night, at Manchester Arena, Dubois also made his professional bow, despatching the horribly overmatched Marcus "Caveman" Kelly in just 35 seconds.

There were very few people outside of Ipswich who knew anything about Wardley at that point but Dubois had already been hailed as a future world champion by his promoter allegedly. Now a little over nine years later, the pair will finally meet but it is Wardley who arrives with the belt.

“He’s been lucky up until now,” Dubois says. “He’s been lucky. I'm going to be the man to take his O. I've done it to people before and I'm going to do it again.

”He’s pulled it out of the bag in certain fights and he’s unorthodox so a lot of fighters out there are not used to that so they do things just out of reactions. It’s different for me and I'm going to be ready for him on fight night.

“I will just work off the jab, pumping that jab and getting into the rhythm. I'm going to have all the answers. Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in their mouth.

“I'm looking forward to putting that on him and bringing the hurt, bringing the pain.”