Daniel Dubois defeats Fabio Wardley to retain WBO heavyweight boxing title

Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois has retained his WBO heavyweight belt with a one-sided and devastating second-round stoppage of fellow British boxer Fabio Wardley in their world title rematch in London.

The 29-year-old champion made a storming start at the O2 Arena on Saturday, and Wardley’s legs gave way within 17 seconds of the opening bell as Dubois floored him with a straight right punch.

Wardley, 31, beat the count and could have been stopped at the end of the first round when he took a further brutal pounding on the ropes but was saved by the bell.

There was no escape from the onslaught of blows in the second round as Dubois picked up where he left off and Wardley took punch after punch until the towel was thrown in and referee Steve Gray brought the fight to a close.

“Fabio is a great warrior, coming in for a second time, but it was my time and my era,” said “Triple D”, never a man for long speeches. “I had my intentions, bad intentions, from the beginning.

“Our back was against the wall the first time. This time, we just had to go out there and show that we mean business, and that’s what we did tonight.”

Dubois dealt Wardley his first defeat as a professional in May when he came back from two knockdowns, the first after 16 seconds, to take the title in the 11th round of a thunderous and bloody clash in Manchester.

Wardley, promoted to WBO champion in November after Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title, was acclaimed for his courage and refusal to give in the first time around, but on Saturday, he looked like a shell of the man seen in Manchester.

He now has a record of 20 wins and two defeats with Dubois on 24 wins with three defeats.

“I’ve always thrown myself in with the best competitors out there, the toughest, the biggest, hardest, meanest guys around. There’s no shame in testing yourself against the best,” he said.

“Daniel’s a testament to coming up short and coming again. I’ll be looking to do the exact same thing.

“Boxing is a game of fine margins. It can be done and over in a round or two, or it can go into a big old war like it was last time.”

Dubois was previously the IBF champion, losing the title to Usyk in London in July last year before coming back to take the WBO belt from Wardley.

Croatian Filip Hrgovic, the IBF champion after beating the United Kingdom’s Moses Itauma in August, was ringside on Saturday and challenged Dubois to a fight with both belts on the line.

“It was an easy night for Daniel. He did a good job, quick win. So he’s ready to fight me in March, right, Daniel?” Hrgovic said before promoter Frank Warren suggested he might have to deal with other candidates first.

Dubois beat the Croatian in June 2024 to take the interim IBF belt and was then upgraded to champion when Usyk vacated his title.

“I want to have a rematch with him. I want to get my old belt back and rule the division,” Dubois said.