Daniel Dubois, known as "Dynamite", retained the World Boxing Organization's heavyweight belt with a decisive second-round victory over fellow Briton Fabio Wardley, in a rematch for the world title held on Saturday.
The champion (29 years old) started strong in the O2 Arena in London, where Wardley lost his balance and was subjected to a count by the referee only 17 seconds after the starting bell, after Dubois knocked him out with a straight punch with the right hand. Wardley (31 years old) succeeded in getting up before the count ended, and the match could have been stopped at the end of the first round when he was subjected to another series of harsh blows on the ropes, but the bell at the end of the round saved him. There was no escaping the barrage of blows in the second round, as Dubois picked up where he left off, while Wardley landed punch after punch until he raised the towel and referee Steve Gray ended the bout.
Dubois, known as “Triple D,” who is not known for giving long speeches, said: “Fabio is a great fighter, and he fought this match for the second time, but this was my moment and my era.” I had bad intentions from the beginning. We were in an awkward situation the first time. This time, we just had to get out into the ring and show that we were serious. This is what we did.
Dubois inflicted on Wardley his first defeat as a professional player when he returned from two knockouts, the first after 16 seconds, to win the title in the 11th round of a loud and bloody confrontation in Manchester last May.
Wardley, who captured the World Boxing Organization title last November after Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the title, won praise for his courage and refusal to surrender the first time, but yesterday he appeared to be just a faded shadow of the man who played in Manchester. His record now stands at 20 wins, 2 defeats and one draw, while Dubois's record stands at 24 wins and 3 defeats. He said: “I have always pitted myself against the best competitors, the strongest, biggest, toughest and fiercest of all. There is no shame in testing your abilities against the best. Danielle is a living example of overcoming failure and trying again, and I will strive to do exactly the same. Boxing is a game of nuances. “It could end in one or two rounds, or it could turn into a long and arduous battle, as happened last time.”
Dubois was a former International Boxing Federation champion, and lost the title to Usyk in London in July last year, before returning to win the World Boxing Organization belt from Wardley.
Croatian Filip Hrgovic, the International Boxing Federation champion after his victory over Briton Moses Itoma in August, was sitting at ringside on Saturday and challenged Dubois to a match to compete for the two belts. “It was an easy night for Daniel,” Hrgovic said, before promoter Frank Warren suggested he might have to deal with other candidates first. He performed well and won quickly. "So he's ready to face me next March, right, Daniel?"
Dubois defeated the Croatian boxer in June 2024 to obtain the interim International Boxing Federation belt, then seized the title when Usyk abandoned it. “I want to have a rematch with him,” Dubois said. “I want to get my old belt back and dominate the category.”
Brandon Figueroa withdrew from his fight against Tomoki Kameda on Saturday, one day after he was stripped of his World Boxing Association featherweight title. Due to not achieving the desired weight.
Last Friday, Figueroa lost his title after weighing 1.4 pounds (0.6350 grams) over the maximum limit of 126 pounds.
It was possible to hold the match, so that Kameda would have the right to win the belt if he won in Las Vegas, while the title would have remained vacant if Figueroa won, but the American boxer withdrew on the day of the match.
Figueroa's promoter and match organizer, Premier Boxing Champions, said in a statement: "The match that was scheduled to take place between Brandon Figueroa and Tomoki Kameda was canceled after Figueroa fell ill overnight."
Japanese boxer Kameda expressed his frustration in a post on social media. The 35-year-old boxer wrote: “I trained hard for the match in Mexico for about two and a half months; Starting in late July, I was ready to get on the track in the best shape possible. however; This is not the end. I have agreed with the promoter and the WBA that I will have priority in the next deciding match for the WBA featherweight title. I will radically change my way of thinking, and I will start over to train for the next stage. “I will definitely win the world champion belt.”
In the main fight on Saturday, Sebastian Fundora defeated Ermal Hadripay by knockout in the 12th round to retain his World Boxing Council super-middleweight title.
