Dubois demolishes Wardley in two rounds to retain WBO heavyweight title

Daniel Dubois retained his WBO heavyweight title with a devastating second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The champion made a storming start, and Wardley’s legs went from under him for a count within 17 seconds of the opening bell, floored by a straight right. CNA, carrying the AFP report, said Wardley beat the count and was saved by the bell after a further pounding at the end of the first round, but there was no escape in the second. The towel was thrown in and referee Steve Gray stopped the fight.

It was a rematch of the thunderous May clash in Manchester, when Dubois came back from two knockdowns to take the title in the 11th round and hand Wardley his first professional defeat. Wardley, promoted to WBO champion last November after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt, now has a 20-2-1 record; Dubois has 24 wins and three defeats.

“Fabio is a great warrior, coming in for a second time, but it was my time and my era,” Dubois said. “I had my intentions, bad intentions, from the beginning.”

The unification picture sharpened immediately after: IBF champion Filip Hrgovic was ringside and challenged Dubois to a fight with both belts on the line.

Sources

• Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/sports/dubois-stops-wardley-second-round-retain-wbo-heavyweight-title-2026-10-17/
• CNA (AFP): https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sport/dubois-defeats-wardley-in-short-order-retain-wbo-heavyweight-title-6469061
• The Times: https://www.thetimes.com/sport/boxing/article/daniel-dubois-fabio-wardley-wbo-heavyweight-title-mcwnqc7tq