UK Boxing
Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois – results and post-fight report
Daniel Dubois climbed to the top twice, defeating Fabio Wardley in the 11th round to become the WBO heavyweight champion after an epic battle in Manchester on Saturday.
Dubois (23-3, 22 KO) was eliminated in both the first and third round, but stopped Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KO) in the penultimate round at the Co-op Live Arena.
With both fighters entering the bout with a 95% knockout rate, few expected the fight to be a success and it seemed like an early night was on the cards in the first 10 seconds.
Wardley, making the first defense of his WBO crown, detonated a brutal right hand that knocked his rival to the seat.
The 28-year-old quickly recovered and started punching with a piston in the second round.
However, the champion fired back in the third round, with another brutal right hand shaking “Dynamite” and sending him to the canvas.
However, Wardley’s success faded after the third round as the former IBF world champion launched a ruthless attack.
The player from Ipswich got back on his feet halfway through the sixth match and, after a series of blows, was one step away from being stopped.
By the seventh round, the 31-year-old’s face was covered in blood, although he bravely lunged for the fence in the hope of landing his trademark right hand, which has defeated Joseph Parker and Justis Huni in his last two fights.
At the beginning of the ninth episode, Wardley was examined by the ringside doctor, with his right eye closed, but was allowed to continue.
Dubois enters the fight after losing by knockout in the fifth round Aleksander Usyk last August he stunned his opponent with another right hand and Wardley looked completely exhausted.
At the beginning of the 10th round, he was examined again by the ring doctor, although he was forced to impose an even greater punishment.
However, his courageous run ended early in the 11th round, and a three-punch attack prompted referee Howard Foster to finally intervene and crown Dubois a two-time world heavyweight champion.
Wardley suffered the first defeat of his professional career.
“Thank you Fabio for a great fight,” Dubois said after the fight.
“It was an honor to stand in the ring with him.”
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Rafferty retires Essuman
Jack Rafferty forced Eko Essuman to retire after the sixth round of their welterweight bout.
Essuman (22-3, 8 KO) suffered a grave injury in the third round and blood flowed into his left eye throughout the fight.
With his eyesight failing to improve, “The Engine” was withdrawn in a corner kick, and Rafferty (27-0-1, 18 KO) returned to winning ways after a majority draw with Mark Chamberlain in August and won the WBA gold welterweight title.
Rhea stops Cameron
Bradley Rea returned to winning ways after stopping Liam Cameron in the fourth round.
Rea (22-2, 11 KO), who was defeated by Lyndon Arthur in November, defeated Cameron (24-8-1, 10 KO) with a strenuous right hand in the fourth quarter.
The player from Sheffield got up, but another attack knocked him to the ground and the referee waved his hand.
Rea became the second man to stop Cameron, who was previously stopped by Ben Whittaker, and won the WBA International featherlight heavyweight title in the process.
Chelli stuns Morrell
Zak Chelli pulled off a huge upset by stopping David Morrell in the 10th and final round.
Morrell (12-2, 9 KO) agreed to face Chelli (17-3-1, 9 KO) after a delay following the cancellation of his scheduled fight against Callum Smith this month.
The former two-division world champion appeared to be on the verge of a decision victory, but the Cuban collapsed in a disastrous ninth round in which he almost survived a powerful attack.
Chelli kept the pressure going in the final round and after pinning Morrell to the ropes, he landed a series of unanswered punches, forcing the referee to intervene.
Gwynne defeats Majid
Gavin Gwynne breathed novel life into his career when he defeated Khaleel Majid (16-1, 4 KO) by majority decision in a thriller.
Moving to the super lightweight category, Gwynne (19-4-2, 5 KO) put in a ruthless performance and won by two scores of 96-94, defeating the card 95-95 and claiming the vacant WBA International crown.
Undercard remaining
Heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov (17-0, 5 KO) remained undefeated after forcing a seventh-round retirement over Agron Smakici (21-4, 19 KO).
Former cruiserweight world title challenger Mike Perez (32-3-1, 22 KO) broke Franklin Arinze’s (10-1, 7 KO) undefeated scoring record.
WHAT A SHOT BY UMMATALIEV
#WardleyDubois | Today | @thecoopliveManchester | Buy the PPV next @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/le8wou7JUh
— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) May 9, 2026
Uzbekistan’s super middleweight prospect Javokhir Ummataliev (2-0, 1 KO) won two in a row after a brutal second-round knockout of Damian Drabik (5-3, 5 KO).
Irish super welterweight Bobbi Flood made it two straight professional victories by defeating super welterweight Nathan Darby on points, and Issiah Hamilton-Allen (2-0) did the same against Connor Goulding (6-11), also weighing 154 pounds.
The post Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois – results and post-fight report appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
UK Boxing
Five experts predict that the result of the Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois match will be chosen as the “overwhelming favourite”.
On Saturday, Fabio Wardley will face Daniel Dubois in an action-packed title clash (Photo: Getty)
Fabio Wardley’s heavyweight bout with Daniel Dubois promises to be one of the most anticipated fights in recent British boxing history. In the latest installment of delicious heavyweight drama, Wardley puts his WBO belt on the line for the first time against former WBA and IBF champion Dubois on Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
With 41 knockout victories under his belt, fans are guaranteed a thrilling spectacle featuring two of Britain’s best heavyweights. Undefeated in professional rings, 31-year-old Wardley was the last to enter the ring and won after a break over Joseph Parker. The 29-year-old Dubois will be desperate to get back to winning ways after a devastating knockout defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last July. Both men possess tremendous striking power, leaving many experts sharply divided as to who will emerge victorious on the night.
Carl Froch-Dubois
Carl Froch cannot forget Dubois’ devastating knockout record, even though Wardley has won by stoppage in all but one of his 21 fights. The former super middleweight world champion explained: “This could be the one where he [Wardley] learns what professional boxing is all about because Daniel Dubois, if he’s firing on all cylinders and enjoys the job, can really do some damage and knock out Fabio Wardley badly.
“But Fabio Wardley has knocked out most of his opponents, he has never done it himself. I want to say that on paper it is a 50/50 fight, but in reality you have to make Daniel Dubois the favorite, and a pretty forceful favorite at that.”
Plush Atlas – Wardley
Teddy Atlas has stressed the importance of mental strength in the All-British clash, insisting that Wardley has the advantage in this regard thanks to his impressive run of victories. Recognizing Dubois’ greater skills and experience in the ring, the renowned boxing coach and commentator refused to underestimate the Ipswich-born fighter.
I’m talking about his Fight Channel on YouTubeAtlas said: “Mental attitude is always critical. Where is the guy’s mentality? 75% of it is mentality. That advantage now has to go to Wardley, who just won the heavyweight title, is undefeated, and Dubois is coming off a knockout loss to Usyk.”
“So mentally you have to have an advantage over Wardley, but Dubois has been here before. Dubois is much more experienced and I don’t mean [just] as for the pros, I mean he had amateur experience. What makes Wardley so unusual and what makes his story so extraordinary is the fact that he did not compete in amateur fights.
“It’s a very captivating fight, I’m going to fight the under [8.5 rounds]. I think Dubois has a chance to win this fight, I really do, but I won’t fight Wardley, not if he’s going to the magic carpet.”
Fabio Wardley defends his WBO title for the first time in a fight against Daniel Dubois (Photo: Getty)
Tony Bellew-Wardley
Tony Bellew hedged his bets by predicting this weekend’s fight. Given Dubois’ impressive tally of 21 knockout wins, Liverpool-born Bellew insisted Wardley must weather his opponent’s early storm if he is to have any chance of victory.
He claimed that if Wardley managed to drag the fight beyond the first four rounds, only he could claim victory. “Once three or four rounds go by, it will probably only go one way,” the 43-year-old said Fight in your corner.
“But for the first three or four rounds, Fabio may be in trouble. He needs to land a punch on Daniel Dubois in the first few minutes of the fight. Daniel Dubois is a bully when it comes to boxing, and bullies don’t do well when it starts going against them. As a top-level fighter, Daniel Dubois is a problem.
“So you’ve got to give him a strenuous time in the first few minutes and start losing confidence, because if you give him any confidence you’re going to get into trouble. Only Wardley can win at the end.”
Johnny Nelson-Dubois
Johnny Nelson was full of praise for Wardley’s skills in the ring and admitted that the fight would be extremely close, although he ultimately tipped Dubois to take the spoils. – said the former cruiserweight champion Boxing RS: “It’s a challenging one, I would lean towards Daniel Dubois, but Fabio Wardley is a very clever player.
“He’s a fighter who knows how to deal with challenging moments, challenging moments, challenging moments. It’s a choice, it’s going to be a crazy fight, either way. I’ll tell Daniel right now [will win]But tomorrow I may change my mind.”
Josh Taylor-Dubois
Josh Taylor was initially hesitant to pick a winner, but pointed to Dubois’ dominance over Wardley’s former opponent Justis Huni as his reason for backing the former world champion to win on Saturday.
Narrated by a retired Scottish boxer Sun: “I don’t know, Fabio had a strenuous time with Huni, I think he really had a strenuous time. Daniel Dubois is a little bit bigger than Huni and also bigger and stronger. So I would move a little bit towards Dubois.”
UK Boxing
“Not Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury or Daniel Dubois – he’s the one who packs the hardest punch.”
Fabio Wardley was lighter than Daniel Dubois, who stepped on the scale at the highest weight of his career.
Wardley will defend his WBO heavyweight title against Dubois on Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena, live on DAZN.
Wardley tipped the scales at 242.2 pounds, just under half a pound less than his last victory over Joseph Parker, when he entered the competition at 242.7 pounds; in the fight with Parker he was lower, as he will be on Saturday.
Dubois weighed 251.7 pounds, the most of his career; “DDD” had his last fight against Oleksandr Usyk weighing in at 243.8 pounds, so the weight enhance is clearly intentional.
TalkSport’s Simon Jordan covered the pair’s latest clash on DAZN’s recent fight week format, ‘The Cauldron’.
Both men pursed their lips, saying, “The call is over,” waiting for the first bell to ring, which could be expected in less than 24 hours.
Wardley is defending his world heavyweight title for the first time after being promoted from interim champion in November.
The undefeated Ipswich fighter stopped former world champion Joseph Parker in the 11th round in his last appearance in October.
Dubois looks like a two-time world heavyweight champion who previously held the IBF crown.
The 28-year-old will enter the All-British fight following a fifth-round knockout defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in July last year.
With a knockout rate of 95% in each case, few expect Saturday’s fight to be a long one, and a defiant Dubois predicted a knockout victory.
“I’m going to eliminate him,” the 28-year-old said Sky Sports News.
“Put him to sleep, take this belt.
“I’m just going to fight like I fight, and what I do is cause damage and cause pain.
“That’s all I’m going to do.
“He was a decent fighter, but I will show that it is at a certain level.
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“But he behaved decently, you can’t take anything away from him.
“Just watch and see. I will show up.
“I’m motivated, really motivated.
“I came back from being champion and I’m going to try to be champion again, so I’m ready for it.”
Wardley is as confident as his rival and has warned him against getting into a shootout with him.
“If he wants to commit and get stuck in, in my case I don’t think it will last long,” the 31-year-old told Pro Boxing Fans after Thursday’s final press conference.
– This won’t work in his favor.
“But from the sounds of it, his team has no plans to do that.
“I think they’re trying to stay away from me.”
Undercard scales
David Morrell vs Zak Chelli – delicate heavyweight – 10 rounds
- David Morrell – 176.1 pounds
- Zak Chelli – 177.1 pounds
Jack Rafferty vs Ekow Essuman – welterweight – 10 rounds
- Jack Rafferty – 146.9 pounds
- Ekow Essuman – 146.7 lbs
Liam Cameron vs. Bradley Rea – delicate heavyweight – 10 rounds
- Liam Cameron – 174.4 pounds
- Bradley Rhea – 173.11 pounds
Bakhodir Jalolov vs Argon Smakici – heavyweight – 10 rounds
- Bakhodir Yalolov – 254.9 lbs
- Argon Smakici – 241 lbs
Khaleel Majid vs Gavin Gwynne – super lightweight – 10 rounds
- Khaleel Majid – 139.7 lbs
- Gavin Gwynne – 139.7 pounds
The post Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois – weigh-in results appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
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