Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois Preview May 9th, 2026
Unbeaten WBO Heavyweight Champion Fabio Wardley of England takes on fellow countryman and former IBF Champion Daniel Dubois this Saturday, May 9th. The 12-rounder from Manchester, England can be seen live on DAZN pay-per-view in most nations. Dubois last fought in July when 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 IBF Belt by stopping Filip Hrgovic in eight rounds in June, 2026 and captured the full IBF Title by stopping Anthony Joshua in the fifth round in 2024 before running into Usyk again. Wardley last saw action in October when he controversially stopped Joseph Parker in the 11th round. Wardley’s previous outing was also controversial as he halted Justis Huni in the 10th round while trailing big time on all three scorecards.
Wardley vs Dubois Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Daniel Dubois +105
- Fabio Wardley -135
My Pick
The 31-year-old Wardley, who hails from Ipswich, climbs into the ring with a near-perfect mark of 20-0-1 with 19 Ko’s and has just 83 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2017. Power is obviously the name of his game as 95 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. The lone blemish in 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. The Englishman stands 6-feet-5-inches tall with a 78-inch reach, the same as Dubois, 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. He took a step up in class against Parker and Huni and was losing both fights until they were halted by questionable refereeing decisions.
Dubois is only 28 years old and he stopped Ebenezer Tetteh in the second round in 2019 for the vacant Commonwealth and WBO International Heavyweight Titles after stopping Nathan Gorman in the fifth round a few months earlier for the vacant British Heavyweight Title. However, he lost all of those belts to Joe Joyce in 2020 when he took a knee in the 10th round and decided not to carry on due to taking Joyce’s jabs all night long and suffering eye damage.
Dubois returned seven months later to stop Bogdan Dinu in the second round before halting Joe Cusumano in one round and then beating Trevor Bryan for the WBA Regular Title by stopping him in the fourth round in 2022. Dubois 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 Usyk and his heavyweight titles in August, 2023 when he was stopped in the ninth round. He rebounded with impressive wins by stopping Jarrell Miller in the 10th and final round, Filip Hrgovic in eight rounds and Joshua in five.
The comparisons with fellow British heavyweights such as Tyson Fury, Joyce and Joshua are somewhat understandable as Dubois also has plenty of power. He makes the ring walk with a mark of 22-3 and 21 of his 22 victories have been by stoppage for a 95.4 per cent in his victories. However all three of his losses have been by stoppage. 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.
Dubois was brought along rather cautiously to start his pro career but has been pretty active with 25 fights under his belt but has just 100 rounds of pro experience due to his long list of knockouts. His most recognizable opponents have included Joshua, Hrgovic, Miller, Usyk, Lerena, Bryan, Joyce, Dignu, Nathan Gorman, Kevin Johnson and Razvan Cojanu so he’s fought his share of tough opponents over the past few years. The only three men who haven’t been stopped by Dubois have been Usyk, Joyce and Johnson.
Dubois 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 looked a little shaky when he was dropped three times in the first stanza by Lerena and halted by Usyk. However, it appeared to be rock solid against Hrgovic, Miller and Joshua before falling once again to Usyk.
Prediction…
Wardley doesn’t possess the greatest boxing skills but he has a lot of heart and carries his power into the later rounds. Dubois has the better boxing skills but this bout will likely be decided by power, chins and the will to win. This is where Dubois has shown to be inconsistent as he didn’t put up much of a fight in the the two bouts against Usyk and the loss to Joyce but showed plenty in his wins over Joshua, Hrgovic and Miller. Wardley is dangerous when he’s hurt so Dubois better be aware of this if he goes in for the finish. This is a tossup but if Wardley is outboxed again this time around I think Dubois has the power to stop him before Wardley gets another dubious stoppage.
Dubois has power and better overall skills.
Play: Dubois +105 @ BetOnline.ag
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Daniel Dubois betting • Fabio Wardley betting