Main Event
Heavyweight Fabio Wardley
Heavyweight Daniel Dubois
Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois
The two biggest punching heavyweights on the planet will collide on Saturday May 9 at the Co-op Live in Manchester where WBO world champion Fabio Wardley will defend his title against former IBF ruler Daniel Dubois.
Wardley and Dubois are two of the mightiest and destructive punchers in the whole boxing industry. The final bell is not a familiar sound to either man because they both possess formidable knockout ratios and only one win apiece on each of the two records has come via the scorecards.
Now Wardley will defend the WBO world title that was upgraded from Interim status following his October stoppage of Joseph Parker against the man who attempted to become undisputed champion in his last fight against Oleksandr Usyk in July.
This Co-op Live occasion is a monumental one for British boxing, with Dubois attempting to become a two-time heavyweight world champion in his second world title fight against a British opponent, following on from his knockout destruction of Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in September 2024.
Previous all-British heavyweight world title encounters staged on these shores include Tyson Fury defending against Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora, plus David Haye against Audley Harrison. The original Battle of Britain came in 1993 when Lennox Lewis retained his WBC title with a stoppage of Frank Bruno.
“This is another piece of British heavyweight history being made,” said promoter Frank Warren. “This is quite simply the most exciting and explosive fight to be made for Fabio’s first defence of his WBO world title and it is typical of the man that this is the fight he wanted.
“Fabio’s journey has been extraordinary and inspiring and he proves time and time again that you write him off at your peril. He keeps taking on bigger challenges and keeps on delivering the goods, mostly against the odds.
“For Daniel to be bidding to become a two-time world champion at the age of just 28 is also remarkable and he also keeps accepting huge heavyweight missions. This will be his sixth world title fight and only Oleksandr Usyk has inflicted defeat on him across this run.
“It is going to be an incredible night at the amazing Co-op Live and a magnificent showcase for British boxing.”
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WINS
20
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LOSES
0
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DRAW
1
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KOs
19
FAbioWardley
Fighter ProfileFABIO WARDLEY IS the WBO heavyweight champion of the world and, on May 9 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, he will make a first defence of his belt against former IBF world champion Daniel Dubois.
Formerly the British, Commonwealth and WBO European champion and a rising star of the British heavyweight scene, Wardley secured his current status with a stunning defeat of Joseph Parker to become WBO Interim world champion last time out in October. He was subsequently upgraded to full champion following Oleksandr Usyk relinquishing the belt, having opted not to defend against Wardley.
Previously a ‘white collar’ or unlicensed boxer, Wardley from Ipswich in Suffolk, turned his attention to the professional ranks in 2017 and is subsequently undefeated in 21 fights.
The charismatic 31-year-old became English champion in 2020 with victory over Simon Vallily, before taking on international fighters of the calibre of Richard Lartey and former world title challenger Eric Molina. All three opponents were defeated via knockout, of which Wardley has registered 19 to date.
Wardley’s English title belt was defended against Nick Webb in 2021 inside a round before he stepped up to British title level in November 2022 against the highly-regarded Nathan Gorman.
Gorman, a relative of Tyson Fury, started well but was chopped down in the third round as Wardley doubled his belt tally.
Holding the coveted British title belt placed a target firmly on the back of Wardley and his name was soon being challenged by contenders such as Clarke and London heavyweight David Adeleye, who he defeated via a convincing seventh round stoppage in Riyadh in October 2023.
Then, in March back in London, Clarke finally stepped up to the plate and went up against Wardley and the fight quickly developed into a thriller. Clarke was put down in the fifth round and also later deducted a point but, in a 12-round first for both fighters, exhaustion set in and Wardley was bleeding heavily after sustaining nose damage.
The highly-anticipated rematch came in Riyadh in October 2024 and lasted less than a round as Wardley literally put a dent in his opponent.
Last June, Wardley lived his dream of fighting at the home of Ipswich Town, Portman Road, where he fought Justis Huni for the WBA Interim world title. On a night of huge emotion, Wardley did labour against the skilled Australian but, in round 10, he dispatched a right-hander that poleaxed Huni and sent 25,000-plus fans into delirium.
Wardley then switched tracks from the WBA to the WBO to face Parker and his gamble paid dividends because his victory propelled him towards his current world champion status.
DAniel dubois
Fighter ProfileDANIEL DUBOIS IS the former IBF heavyweight champion of the world having, unsuccessfully last time out in July, attempted to topple Oleksandr Usyk to become undisputed champion at Wembley Stadium.
His second encounter with Usyk was his second successive headline attraction at the National Stadium with his previously scoring a resounding and spectacular stoppage victory over former two-time unified champion Anthony Joshua.
The strapping Londoner confirmed his status as an elite heavyweight by flooring the 2012 Olympic champion four times on his way to the emphatic fifth round conclusion.
Across the two fights, Dubois performed in front of over 180,000 fans.
Dubois put himself in position for his original Wembley glory by defeating the previously unbeaten No.1 contender Filip Hrgovic in June 2024 over in Riyadh via an eighth round finish, having earlier ended the unbeaten heavyweight reign of giant American Jarrell Miller in December of 2023.
It represented a sequence of victories, following on from his first unsuccessful unified challenge against Oleksandr Usyk in August 2023, that was up there with the best in world boxing.
Right from the beginning of his professional journey, Dubois had been widely considered to be a world champion in waiting. This prediction first came true with a thumping victory over the previously unbeaten Trevor Bryan to win the WBA world heavyweight title in June of 2022.
At the beginning of the December he made a first defence of his prized WBA belt against the dangerous South African Kevin Lerena and ultimately prevailed via a third round stoppage.
His performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium booked his shot at unified champion Usyk and this encounter took place on August 26 of 2023 in Wroclaw, Poland.
In the fifth round, Dubois could and probably should have been able to celebrate the prospect of taking four belts home with him. He bludgeoned the champion to the canvas and out for the count, only for the blow to be ruled low and Usyk was given nearly four minutes to recover.
Dubois lost momentum and was ultimately overwhelmed by Usyk in the ninth round. An appeal over the low blow controversy was duly lodged.
At just 19, with limited senior amateur experience under his belt, Dubois took the plunge into the professional ranks when it was thought by many that he would carry the nation's heavyweight hopes into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and follow in the medal-winning footsteps of Anthony Joshua and Joe Joyce.
Dubois, with 25 fights on his professional clock and again training under the guidance of coach Don Charles, has already recorded 13 title successes in his career to date at the age of just 28.
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WINS
22
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LOSES
3
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DRAW
0
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KOs
21
Plus Full Undercard announcing soon
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