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Dubois Demolishes Wardley in Two Rounds to Retain WBO Title
A standing count after 17 seconds told the story — the champion was on a seek-and-destroy mission and nobody in the division looks safe.
Daniel Dubois needed less than two rounds on Saturday night to remind heavyweight boxing who holds the WBO belt, stopping Fabio Wardley in a rematch that was over almost before it began.
Wardley was still on his feet when it ended — hunched in a corner, saved by trainer Ben Davison's towel — but the outcome was never in doubt. A monstrous right hand forced a standing count just 17 seconds in, and the champion never relented.
A different fighter to May
Five months ago Dubois was knocked down 16 seconds into the first meeting between the pair and dropped again in the third, before grinding Wardley down for an 11th-round stoppage. This time there was no slow start.
"I was more focused than I was in May, big-time," Dubois said. "It was go-time from the minute I put my gear on. Everyone was saying Fabio was going to start fast so I was ready for him. I was prepared for a war. I wasn't going to be denied."
Promoter Frank Warren described the mood in the dressing room as beyond conversation: "He was so zoned in. He went out there on a seek-and-destroy mission."
Who dares next?
Afterwards Dubois declared "this is my time, my era" and asked only to know who is next. The queue is crowded: IBF champion Filip Hrgovic, WBC titleholder Agit Kabayel, a lucrative all-British showdown with Tyson Fury, and prodigy Moses Itauma — all promoted by Warren — are the realistic names.
Oleksandr Usyk, who has beaten Dubois twice, remains the mountain. "I'd love that," Dubois said of a third meeting. "We made our mistakes but I'm a different fighter now.
