Daniel Dubois Knocks Out Fabio Wardley in Rematch

Daniel Dubois destroyed Fabio Wardley just two rounds into their heavyweight world championship rematch on Saturday, October 17 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Dubois got off to an electric start, hammering Wardley to the floor with the first substantial right hand he landed, buckling the former champion’s legs, forcing the referee to rush across the ring and give a count less than 30 seconds into the contest.

Wardley had it all to do and did remarkably well to recover, but took a shellacking in the process. Right hand. Again and again. Bang. Bang. Bang. Dubois did back off, perhaps to not punch himself out and ensure he could endure if Wardley stood up to the punishment, only to re-enter the fight with a pummeling in the final 10 seconds of the opener.

Grimacing between rounds, Wardley looked pained to have to fight a second round and it was not far into the stanza when the corner pulled him out of the contest, taking one too many shots than he needed to. It was all over, quicker, even, than the first fight, when Dubois climbed off the canvas to bludgeon Wardley in a brutal, bloody battle for the ages, earlier in the year.

“Fabio is a great warrior coming in for the second time but this is my time, my era,” Dubois said, post-fight. “I had bad intentions from the beginning.”

Dubois’s promoter, Frank Warren, looked ahead at what’s next. “[We can do] unification fights next year and that’s what we’ll be working on,” said Warren. “This was Daniel’s night and it was a superb performance. Fabio will come back, as well.”

More to follow…