Daniel Dubois blasted Fabio Wardley out inside two rounds to retain his WBO world heavyweight championship, making easy work of the Ipswich man five months on from their eleven-round war.

In their first meeting, Wardley put Dubois down inside ten seconds. Tonight, in London, ‘DDD’ returned the favour, dropping Wardley for the first time in his career not long after the opening bell.

Though Dubois remained composed for the duration of the first round, he still dished out punishment. In the second, the writing was on the wall, with Wardley looking far from the fighter he did back in May.

After more brutal barrages from Dubois, who has an argument as the biggest puncher in world boxing, trainer Ben Davison threw in the towelsaving Wardley from any unnecessary punishment but cementing his second loss to the Londoner.

Post-fight, the fan-favourite former champion took the defeat well.

“It’s never fun to lose, but it is what it is. The game is the game. I’ve always thrown myself in with the best competitors out there, the toughest, biggest, hardest, meanest guys around. There’s no shame in a loss when you’re testing yourself against the best.”

“It just didn’t work for me tonight. I wasn’t clicking in the same way, and that’s only down to me. It’s a credit to Daniel and how well he’s prepared. Boxing is a game of fine margins, it can be over in a round or two, or you can go into a big old war like last time. I didn’t get sparked out, so there’s a little bit of pride to be taken in there.”

Asked if he felt, in hindsight, he took the rematch too soon, Wardley said no, before confirming that he will fight on.

“No, not in the slightest. I didn’t execute the game plan properly tonight, that was all … We’ll go back to the drawing board as a team. Daniel’s a testament to coming up short and coming again, and I’ll be looking to do the exact same thing.”

Wardley’s story is already a fairy tale, and his fans will continue to back him as he continues. However, as pointed out by many former pros already, those around him must consider any next steps carefully.

As for Dubois, he faced off with Filip Hrgovic post-fight. He beat the Croatian back in 2024 in a non-title bout, but now that both men hold major belts, a unification rematch becomes intriguing.

Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley meet for the WBO heavyweight title this evening in their highly-anticipated rematch.

It was back in May when Wardley was making the first defence of his WBO crown against Dubois, in a fight that turned out to be one of the best of the entire year.

‘DDD’ was knocked down twice early on, but was able to recover from those setbacks to dominate the action and inflict plenty of punishment on his rival, leading to the 11th round stoppage win to wrestle the belt away from Wardley.

Just five months on, the pair will meet again after Wardley activated his rematch clause, as the Ipswich man bids to reclaim his title at the first attempt.

He has a difficult task on his hands though, with many backing Dubois to come out on top once moreand potentially move on to unification battles with the likes of Agit Kabayel and former foe Filip Hrgovic.

Stay with Boxing News for a live scorecard, for as long as the fight lasts, and the official result as the British heavyweight duo do battle once more.

Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley live scorecard

This is a Boxing News live scorecard and not the official score from the judges.

Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley fight result

Daniel Dubois TKO2.A destructive performance from Dubois. Back in May he had to recover from the first round knockdown, but this time around he returned the favour by dropping his rival early on and Wardley struggled to recover from that point onwards.

The Ipswich man managed to survive the opening round but it was more of the same in round two, with ‘DDD’ piling on even more pressure and landing a number of huge shots, forcing referee Steve Gray to jump in and stop the action, just as trainer Ben Davison was also throwing the towel in.

A huge statement from Dubois sent out to the rest of the banner division as he retains his WBO heavyweight title.

Daniel Dubois defends his WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at The O2 Arena in London, with coverage starting at 7 p.m. BST / 2 p.m. ET and ring walks expected around 10:30 p.m. BST / 5:30 p.m. ET. The rematch airs on DAZN PPV for £24.99 in the UK and $59.99 in the US.

Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley
WBO heavyweight title
Expected ring walks: 10:30 p.m. BST / 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT

Louie O’Doherty vs Michael Gomez Jr.
British and Commonwealth lightweight titles
Approximate start: 9:30 p.m. BST / 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT

Adam Olaniyan vs Garber
Approximate start: 9:10 p.m. BST / 4:10 p.m. ET / 1:10 p.m. PT

Bakhodir Jalolov vs Solomon Dacres
Heavyweight
Approximate start: 8:10 p.m. BST / 3:10 p.m. ET / 12:10 p.m. PT

Weights:

Dubois 253.9 vs Wardley 248.3
O’Doherty 134.12 vs Gomez Jr 134.3
Olaniyan 250.15 vs Garber 223.15
Jalolov 255.12 vs Dacres 242.9