MANCHESTER, England – Ben Davison has recognised that Fabio Wardley “could” have been rescued earlier than the 11th round of his WBO heavyweight title defeat by Daniel Dubois.

At the Co-op Live Wardley sacrificed his title on the occasion of his first defence when after 28 seconds of the 11th round the referee Howard Foster finally intervened to save him from further punishment.

Wardley’s right eye was swollen shut, his nose was grotesquely cut and bleeding, he was unsteady on his feet, and he was absorbing consistent punishment to the head from one of the biggest punchers in the world.

He had by then dropped the 28-year-old Dubois in the first and third rounds, and had largely built his reputation after coming from behind to dramatically stop Justis Huni and Joseph Parker in his previous two fights.

Davison, who alongside Rob Hodgins trains the 31-year-old Wardley, was among those criticised, post-fight. Wardley-Dubois will be remembered as one of the fights of 2026, but he, Foster and the ringside doctor had had opportunities to rescue Wardley when he was struggling to defend himself. The final rounds were increasingly one-sided and potentially dangerous; there is also the reality that as a consequence Wardley may never be the same fighter again.

“Firstly, congratulations to Dubois,” Davison posted on social media. "Two tremendous warriors in a modern-day classic. We are super proud of Fabio.

“I actually agree the fight could have been stopped earlier.

“I did not see Fabio stumble before walking over to the doctor at the start of round 10, as ironically we was discussing with each other to ‘have the towel in hand’, by which time he had gone over and seen the doctor and seemed much steadier on his legs, which is what we saw.

“It’s such a difficult job to not only find a balance but to strike at the right time to stop a fight like that on a whim when your guy is responsive and firing back.”

Davison was Tyson Fury’s trainer on the night of his first fight with Deontay Wilder, when Fury produced one of the most memorable of all recoveries from a 12th-round knockdown.

It was also tempting to conclude that Foster – in 2013 and also in Manchester so widely criticised for prematurely rescuing George Groves against Carl Froch – was reluctant to act because the entertaining nature of the contest meant that he feared further criticism.

“I’ve been praised for not towelling Fury (Wilder),” Davison continued. “I was praised for not towelling Wood (Conlan). I was firstly criticised then later praised for towelling Wood (Lara).

“Two occasions we looked at it but one, the end of the round came, two, Fabio fired back and killed Dubois’ momentum.

“Again, it was very difficult in the circumstances of the fighter being responsive and firing back.

“I’ve seen mixed opinions on this one but I agree it could have been stopped earlier. However, with that said, I think Howard Foster got it bang on with his terms.”