Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley Preview October 17th, 2026
There’s an instant rematch on tap as former WBO Heavyweight Champion Fabio Wardley attempts to regain his belt from former IBF/WBA Champion and fellow Englishman Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois. The fight takes place at the O2 Arena in London this Saturday, October 17th and the 12-rounder can be seen live in most nations on DAZN pay-per-view. Dubois took the WBO Crown from Wardley in May when he picked himself up from the canvas in the first and third rounds to score a thrilling and dramatic 11th-round TKO in a physically brutal fight. In Dubois’ previous outing he was stopped in the fifth round of a rematch by Oleksandr Usyk. The two first met in 2023 with Usyk halting him in the ninth round. Dubois won the interim IBF Belt by stopping Filip Hrgovic in eight rounds in June, 2024. He then captured the full IBF Title by stopping Anthony Joshua in the fifth round just three months later. In Wardley’s previous two contests he controversially stopped Joseph Parker in the 11th round and Justis Huni in the 10th round. He was trailing big time on all three scorecards in the Huni fight and behind on two cards in the Parker battle and was even on the other scorecard.
Dubois vs Wardley Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Fabio Wardley +318
- Daniel Dubois -460
My Pick
Dubois is 29 years old and he stopped Ebenezer Tetteh in the second round in 2019 for the vacant Commonwealth and WBO International Heavyweight Titles. A few months earlier he stopped Nathan Gorman for the vacant British Heavyweight Title. However Dubois lost all of those belts to Joe Joyce in 2020 when he took a knee in the 10th round. He decided not to carry on due to taking Joyce’s jabs all night long as he feared suffering permanent eye damage. At the time, his heart was seriously questioned but it turns out it may have been the right move.
In 2022 Dubois stopped Trevor Bryan in the fourth round for the WBA Regular Title. He then suffered three knockdowns in the first round at the hands of Kevin Lerena but managed to stop him in the third round. That earned Dubois a shot at Oleksandr Usyk and his heavyweight titles in 2023 but he was stopped in the ninth round. He rebounded with impressive wins by halting Jarrell Miller in the 10th and final round, stopping Filip Hrgovic in eight rounds and knocking out Anthony Joshua in five. Dubois then ran into Usyk again and lasted just five rounds this time.
After all of his recent activity, the hard-hitting Dubois makes the ring walk with a mark of 23-3. All but one of his 22 victories have been by stoppage for a 95.6 per cent knockout ratio. The only time he went the distance in a win was a 10-round decision over Kevin Johnson in 2018. On the other side of the coin, all three of his losses have also been by stoppage, so he’s gone the distance just once as a pro and that’s what makes him a fan-friendly fighter. Dubois enjoyed a fine amateur career, reportedly losing just six of 75 bouts and winning gold medals at various tournaments. He didn’t fight in the Olympics though as he decided to turn pro instead in 2017.
He was brought along rather cautiously to start his pro career but has been pretty active with 26 fights under his belt. He has just 111 rounds of pro experience though due to his long list of knockouts. His most recognizable opponents have included Joshua, Hrgovic, Miller, Usyk, Lerena, Bryan, Joyce, Johnson, Bogdan Dignu, Nathan Gorman, and Razvan Cojanu so he’s fought his share of tough opponents. The only three men who haven’t been stopped by Dubois have been Usyk, Joyce and Johnson.
Dubois, who stands 6-feet-5-inches tall with a 78-inch reach, usually tips the scales between 230 and 250 lbs and his career has been based on power. He can cause damage with either hand but isn’t the most mobile heavyweight in the ring. He has mediocre to decent hand speed and his chin hasn’t always stood up to the test. But when he does get knocked down he usually gets back up unless of course it’s Usyk who’s dropping him. His chin did appear to be rock solid against Hrgovic, Miller and Joshua however. Still, the native of London, has been decked numerous times and has been through several wars before the age of 30.
The 31-year-old Wardley, who hails from Ipswich, climbs into the ring with a mark of 20-1-1 with 19 Ko’s. He has boxed just 94 rounds since making his pro debut in 2017. Power is obviously the name of his game as well as 95 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. Like Dubois, he has won just once on points. The only other blemish on his record is a 12-round draw with Frazer Clarke in March, 2024 for Wardley’s British, Commonwealth and European Heavyweight Belts. Clarke was dropped in the fifth round and deducted a point for low blows in the seventh.
The pair then fought a rematch seven months later with Wardley stopping him in just 148 seconds. The only man other than Clarke to go the distance with him was Jakub Wojkicback in April, 2017 in Wardley’s pro debut. Wardley has the same height and reach as Dubois at 6-feet-5-inches tall with a 78-inch reach and is managed by fellow heavyweight Dillian Whyte. Wardley won the vacant British Heavyweight Title in August 2020 by stopping Simon Vallily in the third round and defended it against Nick Webb, Nathan Gorman and David Adeleye.
He also has wins over Eric Molina, Michael Polite Coffie, Daniel Martz, Richard Lartey, Dennis Lewandowski and Chris Healey. Wardley took a step up in class against Joseph Parker and Justis Huni and was losing both fights until they were halted by questionable refereeing decisions. The endings may have been debatable but he did show a lot of heart against Parker and Huni and did so once again in his loss to Dubois.
Prediction…
The first Dubois vs Wardley fight was a hell of a contest and quite the war. Wardley got off to a great start by dropping him twice early on but Dubois didn’t pack it in this time around. He got back up and turned the momentum around while taking and dealing out a tremendous amount of punishment. Wardley doesn’t possess the greatest boxing skills his heart can’t be questioned. In addition, he carries his power into the later rounds and is quite dangerous when he’s hurt. Dubois has the better overall boxing skills but once again this fight will likely be decided by power, chins/punch resistance and the sheer will to win. Dubois’ heart may have been questioned in the two losses to Usyk and the defeat to Joyce but certainly not in his triumphs wins over Wardley, Joshua, Hrgovic and Miller. This time around, if Wardley drops Dubois he needs to make sure he doesn’t get back up. This should be another slugfest but I think the outcome will be the same as the first fight as Dubois combines better boxing skills with his power. The only way I see Wardley winning is by stoppage and that’s certainly a possibility, but I’m going with Dubois once again.
Dubois is the better overall boxer.
Play: Dubois +105 @ BetOnline.ag
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