It looks like newly crowned WBO heavyweight champ Fabio Wardley has apparently settled on former two time heavyweight champ Daniel Dubois as his opponent for his first defense.
It looks like newly crowned WBO heavyweight champ Fabio Wardley of England has settled on an opponent for his first defense.
Reports from TalkSport in the U.K. as well as top U.S. Boxing insider Dan Rafael both point to Wardley fighting former two time heavyweight champ and fellow countryman, Daniel Dubois for a title bout later this year.
Rafael reported this weekend that the bout is being targeted to headline a DAZN pay-per-view card as early as May 9th. Both fighters are promoted by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, adding further momentum to negotiations.
“We are ready to go but it’s over to Fabio and his team,” said Dubois adviser Sam Jones in a recent interview. “But we are good to go. What a fight for the fans this will be.”
The 31 year old Wardley, 20-0-1, 19 KOs, is coming off the biggest win of his career back in October, when he scored a dramatic 11th-round stoppage of Joseph Parker to claim the WBO interim heavyweight title. He was later upgraded to full champion status when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt rather than fulfill a mandatory title defense against Wardley.
Wardley has built a resume with kayo power with 19 of them in his 20 victories.
Meantime, the 28 year old Dubois, 22-3, 21 KOs, has also experienced major highs and lows in recent outings. He was elevated from IBF interim champion to full titlist and delivered a career-defining performance in September 2024, destroying former unified champ Anthony Joshua with four knockdowns en route to a devastating fifth-round knockout. The shocking result was elevated by it being at Wembley Stadium before a crowd of nearly 96,000.
However, Dubois’ momentum stalled in his following fight. In a rematch with Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship last July, Dubois was stopped in the fifth round in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley. He has not fought since that defeat.
Dubois had been knocked out in the first meeting with Usyk in 2023 and also previously was kayoed by fellow Brit, Joe Joyce in 2020.
Talk Sport further reported that the location of the proposed Wardley-Dubois fight has been narrowed to either the O2 Arena in London or Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester.
As he prepares for this possible latest title challenge, Dubois has reunited with longtime trainer Don Charles. The pair previously worked together for five fights, beginning with Dubois’ first loss to Usyk in 2023 and continuing through knockout victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Joshua, before the second Usyk defeat. Dubois briefly split with Charles and joined trainer Tony Sims for the Usyk rematch, but that partnership has ended quickly.
Without question the bout will be the most lucrative of Wardley's career, if it comes about later in 2026.