Fabio Wardley says “my body failed me” during his devastating defeat to Daniel Dubois on Saturday.

Wardley lost his WBO heavyweight title and undefeated record in a dramatic 11th round defeat to Dubois at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

On Sunday, the Ipswich fighter published a statement on his social media in which he congratulated his rival, who was crowned a two-time world heavyweight champion.

“My body failed me, but not my heart,” wrote the 31-year-old X.

“And I can live with that.

“Congratulations @DynamiteDubois, thank you for a great fight worthy of the history books.

“Thank you to the city of Manchester and everyone who has been with me on this journey. #TeamWardley.”

Wardley, who was the bookmakers’ favorite before the clash, came close to winning prematurely after throwing his opponent in the first 10 seconds.

Dubois recovered, but was staring down defeat again in the third round after hitting the canvas with a second right hand.

However, the 28-year-old rallied brilliantly and surprised the champion with his volume and accuracy before referee Howard Foster finally stopped the fight in the 11th round.

“It was a war,” Dubois said after the fight.

“Thank you for this, Fabio.

“I know I have a heart, bundles of hearts.

“I’m a fighter out there.”

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The Briton bounced back from losing his IBF title last August following a fifth-round defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk holds the remaining IBF, WBC and WBA titles and is defending his WBC crown ahead of the fight Rico Verhoeven May 23 in Egypt.

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Dubois has been linked to a showdown with Queensberry stablemate and WBO number one contender Moses Itauma, who was watching from ringside.

Itauma, undefeated in 14 professional fights, will return to the O2 Arena on August 8, although it is unlikely that he will face the newly crowned WBO world champion.

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Daniel Dubois returned to the ring last night after the reign of WBO world champion Fabio Wardley.

Dubois’ victory over Wardley was the first ever defeat for the Ipswich player.

After 10 months outside the ring, “DDD” achieved a real victory over the undefeated champion, although many questioned Dubois entering such a arduous fight straight away.

He faced adversity in the first seconds of the competition cut down and dropped after the first shot his opponent landed.

Dubois showed a lot of experience throughout the fight. He went down again in the third period, but managed to recover from further adversity.

“Dynamite” showed off his technical skill, poise and brute strength throughout the match until the referee stepped in.

He currently holds the WBO world heavyweight title and will be looking for his first defense, with three possible names as his next potential opponents.

Moses This is going to hurt

Probably the fight that the boxing public wants most will be the fight with 21-year-old Moses Itauma.

Itauma’s two biggest wins came just a few weeks ago against Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin. Despite his lack of experience on the world stage, many predict he will rule the division.

He currently trains at the same stable as Wardley, so he will likely want to learn from his stablemate’s defeat in case he ever shares the ring with “DDD”.

Sam Jones called the fight “inevitable,” and David Coldwell spoke to professional boxing fans and admitted that if he had to pick a winner, he would lean toward Itauma.

The 21-year-old is set to return on August 8, headlining London for the first time in his career, with promoter Frank Warren confirming the return date.

Aleksander Usyk

With Dubois currently holding the WBO title, he holds the only belt missing from two-time undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk, which means they may want to arrange a third meeting between the pair.

The Ukrainian defeated “DDD” in both of his previous fights, stopping him in the ninth round in 2023 and the fifth round last year.

A trilogy is unlikely, but remains possible if “The Cat” goes unchallenged for a third time.

Usyk returns to the ring on May 23 against kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven and is then expected to defend his WBC title against Agit Kabayel.

Fabio Wardley

After such a brutal fight, a rematch with Wardley seems unlikely and the 31-year-old suffered significant injuries.

Promoter Frank Warren, however, confirmed that there was a rematch clause in the contract when the fight was signed, which was presumably up to Wardley and his team to practice if they wanted.

Many of them have already taken to social media to say that they do not want the fighters to face each other next, calling yesterday’s fight “arduous to watch.”

There is no need for a rematch. It was a fantastic fight, but it was absolutely certain that Dubois was the better man and Wardley suffered a lot in that fight.

Wardley is a tough guy and has other fights ahead of him

— #RingsideFracas (@Ringside_Fracas) May 9, 2026

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