Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois fight preview, tale of the tape, betting odds, prediction
Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois fight preview
Undefeated WBO world heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) will defend his shiny, new title for the first time to former world champion Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) this Saturday, May 9, at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, live on DAZN.
Wardley was elevated from WBO Interim to their full world champion when two-time undisputed heavyweight king, Oleksandr Usyk, chose to not honour his mandatory orders.
So, the Suffolk fighter decided to use his voluntary defence against WBO #3 Dubois, bypassing #1 Moses Itauma and #2 Filip Hrgovic to set up a tasty all-British, domestic dustup.
Tale of the Tape
Fabio Wardley
From: Ipswich, Suffolk
Wins: 20
Losses: 0
Draws: 1
KOs: 19
KO Ratio: 95%
Rounds 83
Age: 31
Height: 6' 5"
Reach: 78"
Trainer: Robert Hodgins
Promoter: Dillian Whyte
Daniel Dubois
From: Greenwich, London
Wins: 22
Losses: 3
Draws: 0
KOs: 21
KO Ratio: 95.45%
Rounds 100
Age: 28
Height: 6' 5"
Reach: 78"
Trainer: Don Charles
Promoter: Frank Warren
Last Five Fights
Wardley:
WON-TKO 11 vs Joseph Parker
WON-KO 10 vs Justus Huni
WON-TKO 1 vs Frazer Clarke
DRAW-SD 12 vs Frazer Clarke
WON-TKO 7 vs David Adeleye
Dubois:
LOST-KO 5 vs Oleksandr Usyk
WON-KO 5 vs Anthony Joshua
WON-TKO 8 vs Filip Hrgvoic
WON-TKO 10 vs Jarrell Miller
LOST-KO 9 vs Oleksandr Usyk
Fight Preview
‘Dynamite’ Dubois enjoyed a successful amateur career, winning 69 from 75 bouts, winning national and international tournaments. Wardley is the opposite, with zero amateur experience behind him, relying on just four white collar bouts after starting up boxing late in his 20s.
When the novice turned pro, he immediately dropped his debut opponent in the first round, then proceeded to either KO or drop every single opponent he has ever faced.
In his 18th bout, he was left disappointed for the first time in his unbeaten career, but he wasn't defeated, he was forced to settle for a draw during his March 2024 British heavyweight title clash with 'Big' Frazer Clarke. However, he made up for the draw in the rematch seven months later when he savagely stopped Clarke in the first round by striking him so hard that he broke the Olympian's jaw, visibly denting his face.
A former Ipswich FC academy player and lifelong fan, Fabio has fearsome power and unfaltering resilience. During 2025, he impressively came from behind to stop the Australian stylist Justus Huni with a thunderous overhand right to the head in the 10th round. Trailing significantly on the cards, he was just seven minutes away from his first defeat until he proved his get out of jail power.
Four months on, the 31-year-old left it even later in his next appearance against Joseph Parker, leaving it right up to the 11th round to stop the New Zealander.
Dubois is three years younger at 28, but astonishingly they both made their pro debuts on the exact same day in history on April 8, 2017. Dubois took just 35 seconds to win his induction into the paid ranks.
When Dubois turned pro, rumours spread about this 17-year-old kid who had dropped the reigning IBF heavyweight world champion, Anthony Joshua, in sparring. With promoter Frank Warren investing everything into the teenage prodigy, he was thrust into the limelight, while while Fabio was fighting in small halls and nightclubs around Norwich.
AJ probably never imagined that the teenager who dropped him in sparring would eventually defend a world title against him by flooring him four times at Wembley Stadium and knocking him out in the fifth.
The Londoner, who owns 12 professional titles, has often been compared to Mike Tyson for his compact build and powerful punches.
However, he has been stopped three times in his career. The first came against Joe Joyce during the COVID pandemic, the pair of Londoners putting their reputations and unbeaten records on the line. Dunois was ahead on two of the cards, but a persistent jab from the ‘Juggernaut’ that couldn't miss eventually fractured his eye socket, causing the favourite to take a knee in the 10th, where he remained.
Following an impressive KO streak, stopping his next four foes in rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, the new WBA Regular champion was then stopped in round nine by the unified world heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk in 2023. Once more, Dubois took a knee after receiving a powerful jab and again opted to stayed down.
Another impressive run followed from Daniel, stopping Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, all in a row. He met Usyk again, in 2025, this time as an IBF world champion, but the Ukrainian well and truly had his number and blasted him away in five very one-sided rounds.
Now he enters the ring as the challenger, and a very slight underdog.
How to watch Wardley-Dubois
Prediction
These British heavyweights share a whopping 95% KO ratio, hence why the event is titled, “Don’t Blink”.
The challenger Dubois scores a knockout, on average, every three rounds, and defending champion Wardley averages every 3.5 rounds, making this a very 50-50 affair, with some bookies placing Wardley at 1/1 odds, and Dubois at 11/10. For either one to win on points, the odds are set widely at 6/1.
With such a collision of potent power, there's not many picking this one to go the distance. Each heavyweight has the capability of hurting each other at any given moment and the occasion is going to add to that excitement in the ring with a world title on the line, the British bragging rights, and the inevitably raucous crowd roaring with every single punch landed.
Wardley is very fluid and relaxed, often bouncing on his toes with his lead left dangling down low by his hip, whereas Dubois is very compact and tight, looking to get in close to land potent hooks.
Dubois is the more experienced, despite being the younger of the two, and some would say the bigger puncher too.
Unlike Wardley, he has been beaten three times, each time by knockout, twice by a jab. Carl Froch has backed to Dubois to win, believing that Wardley has never been hit by anyone with that kind of power before.
But Fabio has shared 83 rounds with 20 different heavyweights and is fully aware of the potency of the punches in the division he has been operating in his entire career. Plus, he has sparred Dubois before so has felt his power, albeit under 16oz gloves and headguards.
Wardley has stepped up in competition in recent fights, but has also come close to losing a few times at this higher level, firstly held to a draw by Frazer Clarke, then he entered rounds 10 and 11 trailing on the cards to Huni and Parker, respectively.
He won’t be able to punch his way out of every fight for much longer, his luck will run out eventually.
Personally, I think this contest comes down to not just who lands first, but who inflicts the first bit of damage and follows it up clinically.
If Dubois hurts Wardley, then I can envisage him using his experience, resilience and battling spirit to get through it, but whenever Dubois shows vulnerability, it's a different story. If Wardley hurts Dubois, I believe he will throw the kitchen sink at him to promptly finish it off.
Prediction: Wardley by KO/TKO
Extra Tip: Wardley by KO/TKO in rounds 1-6
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