Five months ago in Manchester, Fabio Wardley put Daniel Dubois on the canvas twice inside the first three rounds — and still left without his WBO heavyweight title. On Saturday 17 October, Wardley gets another shot at reclaiming it, this time at the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena in London. The pair have already produced one of the most memorable heavyweight fights of 2026. Both have every reason to believe they can finish this differently.
| Date | Saturday, 17 October 2026 |
| Venue | The O2 Arena, Greenwich, London |
| Title | WBO World Heavyweight Championship |
| Rounds | 12 x 3 minutes |
| Promotion | Queensberry Promotions |
| Broadcast | DAZN PPV (US & UK), DAZN Ultimate Tier |
| Main card begins | 7:00pm BST / 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT |
| Ringwalks (approx) | 10:30pm BST / 5:30pm ET / 2:30pm PT |
Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois is a two-time world heavyweight champion from Greenwich, London. He is 29 years old and debuted as a professional in April 2017. Standing 6’5” with a 78” reach and an orthodox stance, Dubois carries the most feared right hand in the British heavyweight division.
His record stands at 23 wins, 3 losses, 22 stoppages — a KO rate of 95.7%. In his professional career he has held the WBA Regular, IBF, and now WBO heavyweight titles. The trajectory has not been linear: he suffered a tenth-round knockout to Joe Joyce in 2020, lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in undisputed-title bouts (2023, 2025), and entered the first Wardley fight on the back of the Usyk defeat. He got off the canvas twice, absorbed Wardley’s heaviest shots, and still stopped him in the 11th round.
Trainer Don Charles has promised a “more clinical” performance this time. Dubois himself has gone further — publicly claiming he “didn’t even train hard” for the first fight and was “pretty overweight,” suggesting the rematch version of Dynamite enters at a sharper weight and sharper focus.
Fabio Wardley is 31 years old and based in Ipswich, Suffolk. He has the same physical dimensions as Dubois — 6’5”, 78” reach, orthodox — and nearly the same KO rate. His record stands at 20 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, 19 stoppages (95% KO rate) across 94 professional rounds.
In 2025, Wardley swept British Fighter of the Year honours from ESPN, Boxing News and British Boxing News. He came from behind on the scorecards to knock out Justis Huni in round 10 in June, then stopped former WBO champion Joseph Parker in round 11 in October. Those two wins established him as the UK’s most dangerous heavyweight prospect and earned him the WBO title shot he had craved.
He entered the first Dubois fight as champion and activated his rematch clause immediately after the stoppage. At the launch press conference in September, he was characteristically clear about why he lost: “I was too relaxed, comfortable and laid back in certain scenarios. I got trigger-happy after the early knockdowns. That’s my mistake to correct.”
| Daniel Dubois | Fabio Wardley | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 29 | 31 |
| Height | 6’5” (196cm) | 6’5” (196cm) |
| Reach | 78” (198cm) | 78” (198cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Record | 23–3–0 | 20–1–1 |
| KOs | 22 (95.7%) | 19 (95%) |
| Debut | 2017 | 2017 |
| Pro rounds | 111 | 94 |
| Date | Opponent | Result | Method | Rnd | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2026 | Fabio Wardley | W | TKO | 11 | WBO Heavyweight |
| Jul 19, 2025 | Oleksandr Usyk | L | KO | 5 | Undisputed HW |
| Sep 21, 2024 | Anthony Joshua | W | KO | 5 | IBF Heavyweight |
| Jun 1, 2024 | Filip Hrgovic | W | TKO | 8 | — |
| Dec 23, 2023 | Jarrell Miller | W | TKO | 10 | — |
| Date | Opponent | Result | Method | Rnd | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2026 | Daniel Dubois | L | TKO | 11 | WBO Heavyweight |
| Oct 25, 2025 | Joseph Parker | W | TKO | 11 | WBO Interim HW |
| Jun 7, 2025 | Justis Huni | W | KO | 10 | WBA Interim HW |
| Oct 12, 2024 | Frazer Clarke II | W | KO | 1 | British & Commonwealth HW |
| Mar 31, 2024 | Frazer Clarke | D | Draw | 12 | British & Commonwealth HW |
The opening round in Manchester set the tone for everything that followed. Wardley landed a right hand within the first ten seconds, sending Dubois to the canvas immediately. Dubois beat the count, came forward, and the fight entered its brutal rhythm. A third-round right hand put Dubois down again. Most heavyweights in that position would be cautious for the rest of the night. Dubois went the other way — he walked through Wardley’s power and started landing his own right hand with growing regularity.
From round four onward, the momentum shifted. Wardley kept swinging for the knockout — the right hand that had worked twice in the first three rounds — but the openings came less often. A badly cut nose and significant swelling around his eye accumulated through the middle rounds, the ringside doctor checking him twice before allowing him to continue. Dubois had outlanded Wardley 179 to 97 by the end (CompuBox) — a precision edge that made the stoppage feel inevitable in retrospect despite Wardley’s two early knockdowns. The referee, shirt soaked in Wardley’s blood, stopped the fight at 0:28 of the 11th round without a knockdown.
The result carried a straightforward competitive message: Wardley’s right hand is genuinely dangerous, but he was too committed to repeating it after the early success. When Dubois found his rhythm, Wardley had no second gear to fall back on.
Both fighters come forward. Both carry significant one-punch power. Neither operates effectively from distance. The identities are almost identical — which is precisely why their fights produce the kind of action that ends up in year-end award lists.
The tactical question for the rematch is whether Wardley has changed his approach after the first fight’s specific failure. His own analysis after Manchester is accurate: he became “trigger-happy” after landing the two early knockdowns, committing to the same right hand at the expense of anything else. That single-mindedness handed Dubois a roadmap.
If Wardley comes in with a genuine jab, varied punch selection, and better control after landing his power shots, the fight looks different. He proved he can hurt Dubois at will in the first three rounds. The issue was what came next.
Dubois enters having identified two things: his recovery ability is demonstrably elite, and a sharper opening takes the decision out of fate’s hands entirely. Don Charles has pointed to “cutting out the errors” from the first camp as the priority. A more disciplined Dubois — tighter guard, consistent jab, patient body work before opening up — makes Wardley’s right hand harder to land and extends the range at which Dubois wins exchanges.
Wardley’s power makes a repeat of round one possible. The 17 October version of this fight depends almost entirely on what happens in rounds four through seven — after any early drama settles and before the finishing power of either man takes over.
Dubois must:
Wardley must:
| Fighter | UK Odds | US Moneyline |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Dubois | 1/4 | -460 |
| Fabio Wardley | 27/10 | +320 |
| Draw | 25/1 | — |
The market reflects what the first fight showed: Dubois is the better-rounded heavyweight at this stage, with wider championship experience (Joshua, Hrgovic, two Usyk fights) and the proven ability to absorb Wardley’s best shots and come through them.
Wardley’s case is a genuine one — he dropped Dubois twice and carried real danger throughout — but the betting spread is not simply punishing him for losing. A challenger who became “too trigger-happy” after landing cleanly, and whose tactical answer is a single punch thrown in the same way, is a different proposition to a challenger who has genuinely added new dimensions.
The pick is Dubois by stoppage, rounds 8–10. Wardley will likely be in the fight through the middle rounds — his power demands that Dubois stays disciplined, and even a disciplined Dubois gets hit. But the evidence from the first fight suggests Wardley does not have a second answer if Dubois weathers the early storm again. If Don Charles’s promise of a “more clinical” performance proves accurate, the finish could come sooner.
United Kingdom:
United States:
Dubois vs Wardley is the main event on an 11-fight card that includes some compelling support.
Unbeaten Olympic super heavyweight gold medallist Bakhodir Jalolov faces Solomon Dacres in a heavyweight contest — read our full preview of Jalolov vs Dacres.
Louie O’Doherty defends his British and Commonwealth lightweight titles against Michael Gomez Jr. in the co-main event. Several more fights on the prelim card feature emerging British talent including Tony Curtis, Leighton Birchall, Aaron Noriega and Zayn Ahmed.
When is Dubois vs Wardley 2? Saturday, 17 October 2026. Main card begins at 7:00pm BST (2:00pm ET). Ringwalks for the main event are expected around 10:30pm BST.
Where is the fight? The O2 Arena, Greenwich, London.
What title is at stake? The WBO World Heavyweight Championship. Dubois is making his first defence of the title he won from Wardley in May 2026.
Who won the first Dubois vs Wardley fight? Dubois won by TKO in round 11 on 9 May 2026 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. Wardley knocked Dubois down twice (rounds 1 and 3) but was stopped without a knockdown after taking sustained punishment. CompuBox recorded Dubois outlanding Wardley 179–97 across the fight.
What are the betting odds? Dubois is priced at 1/4 (UK) / -460 (US) to win. Wardley is 27/10 / +320. Draw is 25/1.
How can I watch in the UK? DAZN PPV at £24.99, or via DAZN Ultimate subscription. BBC Sport provides free live text commentary and radio coverage.
Update: Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2: fight review and result →
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