Daniel Dubois beats Fabio Wardley to become WBO heavyweight champion in 10-round epic | Boxing News

Daniel Dubois beat Fabio Wardley by stoppage to become WBO world heavyweight champion in an incredible 10-round epic at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

Defending champion Wardley started the fight at pace with two knockdowns in the first three rounds – including his first in the opening 10 seconds of the bout – but Dubois’ power was too much for Wardley as his dangerous right hook caused serious damage to his blood-covered opponent.

Dubois came close to a stoppage victory in the sixth round, leaving Wardley reeling on the ropes, but he sealed the deal in the 10th when a flurry of late punches forced referee Howard Foster to wave off the bout.

“It was a war,” Dubois said afterwards.

“We came through the sticky moments. Thank you Fabio for that, thank you,” Dubois continued.

“What a great fight, what a great battle, man.”

Promoter Frank Warren confirmed afterwards there was a rematch clause in the fight contract.

Dubois vs Wardley: How it happened

Dubois entered the fight hoping to bounce back from a second successive stoppage defeat to triple world title holder Oleksandr Usyk, but his night got off to a an all-too-familiar start when the boxer was reportedly stuck in traffic on the way to the venue – echoing his notorious late arrival before his loss to the Ukrainian due to a pre-fight party.

Wardley, however, couldn’t have begun his night any faster as the defending champion knocked Dubois down with a huge right hook less than 10 seconds into the opening round.

Dubois, visibly agitated, got back into the fight, rushing towards Wardley in a clinch and subsequently landing two looping right hands to get back into the fight.

The Londoner continued his recovery with a strong second round, landing a big arching right against Wardley on the ropes, but his opponent struck back with an extraordinary second knockdown in the opening three rounds, leaving Dubois reeling on one knee and needing eight seconds to get up.

Miraculously, a fatigued Dubois battled back, landing a ferocious one-two before a clubbing right hook left Wardley on the back foot in round four. The Ipswich Town superfan had never been knocked down in his previous 20 fights, but he looked unlikely to stay on his feet for long as Dubois landed numerous hooks and jabs to the head.

His opponent continued to flail, missing his trademark right hand, and Dubois gained even more momentum with a brilliant left jab to the face. He came close to a stoppage victory in the sixth when he landed a flurry of blows to a bloody Wardley, somehow still standing despite visible and serious damage.

But Wardley demonstrated the resilience which has taken him from an amateur to the top of world boxing when he landed a left jab to the face of Wardley, leaving Dubois looking vulnerable for the first time in multiple rounds.

Dubois, in the ascendancy, continued to land blow after blow but Wardley, with legs unsteady, would not buckle. His corner inspected a huge gash in his nose, but the cut was not enough to stop the boxer from entering the ninth round.

The Londoner landed yet another brutal sweeping right hook to Wardley, who wobbled once again but stood tall and landed an uppercut of his own.

Another inspection from the referee and his corner preceded the 10th round, yet Wardley would still not give in of his own accord. The resilient boxer could only stand so much, though, and Dubois’ flurry of body shots were deemed the final blows by referee Howard Foster, who called off the fight and ended his reign as WBO title holder.

More to follow…