Fabio Wardley’s team wants tighter control of Daniel Dubois’ head-first attacks in Saturday’s rematch, with manager Michael Ofo calling for stronger officiating after their first fight.

The concern is about Wardley being able to punch without Dubois driving into him with his head. Those collisions can interrupt an attack, knock a fighter out of position, and make him hesitate before throwing again.

Dubois recovered from two knockdowns to stop Wardley in May and take the WBO heavyweight title. Ahead of their return at London’s O2 Arena, Ofo has accused the champion of leading with his head and using a tackle during that fight.

“We’re calling for a stronger referee, because it’s needed,” Ofo told Sky Sports Boxing.

Dubois’ trainer Don Charles rejected the criticism, describing the opposing camp’s complaints as “insecurity and weakness.”

Wardley’s camp has a reasonable case for asking the referee to watch those entries closely. When Dubois comes forward behind his punches, head contact can make it difficult for Wardley to plant his feet and counter. Intent is difficult to establish, but repeated collisions still need attention.

That becomes especially important if Wardley hurts Dubois again. He needs the opportunity to follow up without a foul interrupting his work and giving the champion time to recover.

However, Wardley cannot build his approach around the referee intervening. His jab has to give Dubois something to get past, and combinations would make him less predictable than loading up on individual power shots. Moving after punching could also reduce the opportunities for Dubois to drive into him.

Wardley showed he could hurt Dubois in the first fight. The harder task is turning those moments into a finish while avoiding another punishing battle at close range. Firmer officiating could help, but his own adjustments will have to do most of the work. Wardley cannot rely on the third man to solve that puzzle.

If Dubois is going to be stopped from barreling in head-first, Wardley has to make the physical cost of doing so intolerable, just like Oleksandr Usyk did.

After positive steps towards making a fight, Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson are said to be moving on after their teams could not finalise terms behind the scenes.

The pair of elite world champions have been linked throughout 2026, but the match-up appeared off the table earlier in the year due to a dispute over the weight.

Stevenson, who has fought just once at super-lightweight, wanted to meet at a catchweight of 144lbs, and was even said to be demanding a 10lbs rehydration clause.

Team Haney at first remained firm on the welterweight limit of 147lbs, where he beat Brian Norman Jr. last November to become WBO world champion.

Earlier this month, the fighters appeared to have a breakthrough, publicly agreeing to 145lbs on social media. Fans got excited, and predictions began flooding in.

Today, Stevenson said that, despite the initial agreement, he received an email from Haney’s lawyer saying that they were now switching back to 147lbs. Haney hit back, saying Stevenson ‘went missing for days’ after they had agreed to 145lbs, and that his rival ‘did everything’ for the fight not to happen.

Whoever is at fault, the fight now seems dead in the water.

Boxing Scene‘s Lance Pugmire now reports that Haney will revisit a fight with IBF champion Liam Paro. The Australian won the belt from Lewis Crocker in June and has since called on all champions in the division – Haney, Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez – to unify. Bill Haney, father and trainer to Devin, previously announced that November 28 in Atlanta was the target for his son’s return.

Who Stevenson now targets remains unclear, though fans will begin to criticise the inactivity. He has not been in the ring since an impressive victory over Teofimo Lopez in January, a particularly frustrating period of inactivity due to a high-profile promotional deal with Zuffa Boxing announced in July.

In the wake of a proposed clash between Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney falling through, Tim Bradley believes one man, who he describes as the “biggest duck in boxing”, is solely responsible.

The two pound-for-pound stars were in talks to collide later this year, with November 28 and Atlanta having been suggested as the potential date and location, respectively.

According to Stevenson, however, negotiations reached an impasse at the “11th hour” due to Haney’s lawyer demanding that they fight at 147lbs.

This, if accurate, would have meant a refusal to meet at 145lbs, which both sides had seemingly decided was a sensible catchweight for their showdown.

But while Stevenson claims he was willing to jump up from 140lbs, the slick southpaw has accused Haney of going back on his promise to drop down from welterweight.

As a result, Hall of Famer Bradley has said on his YouTube channel that, in his mind, Devin and his father and trainer, Bill Haney, are to blame for the fight not happening.

“I’m gonna name you ‘Deebo Dev’ – the biggest duck in boxing. And all y’all thought it was Shakur Stevenson [avoiding Haney] all along.

“Bill [Haney]how you gonna get out of this one? What happened – you got cold feet? This man [Stevenson] gave up the weight; this man gave up some money.

“You got your lawyer involved. You said you wanted this fight – you agreed to 145[lbs] and all. Come on now – Shakur agreed to it as well. And now we can’t get the fight because you wanted it at 147[lbs]. Is that true, Bill?”

While Stevenson comes off a unanimous decision victory over Teofimo Lopez in January, Haney has not fought since dethroning Brian Norman Jr last November.