Daniel Dubois Stops Fabio Wardley in Two Rounds
Fabio Wardley (20-2-1) badly needed a good start in his much-anticipated rematch against Daniel Dubois (24-3) on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London. Sadly for him, it didn’t come. In truth, it couldn’t have started any worse for him.
Dubois landed one almighty right hand that dropped Wardley in the opening seconds. From that moment on, it was always a case of when Dubois would repeat his previous victory over Wardley, and not if.
Wardley looked a shadow of his former self as Dubois delivered a truly brutal performance in stopping Wardley in just two one-sided rounds. Wardley was as brave as ever, but he looked overly concerned with what was coming back at him. The scars of that savage first meeting still lingered.
Dubois retained his WBO world heavyweight title in stunning fashion. Wardley was never in it, and he might well be advised to consider retirement. Although he said post-fight that he would fight on.
Wardley was down in the opening twenty seconds from that perfectly timed right hand in the opening round. That punch would have finished virtually any other heavyweight on the planet. Wardley bravely got up and survived the round. But the writing was already on the wall.
The 29-year-old two-time world heavyweight champion showed some semblance of patience even though Wardley looked ready to be taken out right there and then. But Dubois hurt Wardley again towards the end of the round, and unleashed multiple power punches on his 31-year-old challenger. The end was already coming. The confidence in Dubois, which hasn’t always been there, was impressive. He looked like a fighter who knew he would win. Wardley just hoped that he would.
Dubois stunned Wardley again in the second round, and with Wardley taking heavy shot after heavy shot, the referee belatedly waved it off at the 2:21 point of the round. The former champion took a few shots too many. The rematch always looked too soon after what happened in May. And so it proved. Wardley protested it wasn’t. The evidence says otherwise. In this case, no hindsight was needed.
The future might be uncertain for Fabio Wardley, but Daniel Dubois can look forward to big unification fights in 2027. Dubois promised a spectacular victory, and he delivered it in sensational fashion. Many thought Dubois would win. But not many believed that victory would come in the manner that it did. With this amount of self-belief, Dubois will take some beating.
Photo Credit: Queensberry Promotions
