Daniel Dubois has warned Fabio Wardley of the mistake he will be making if he judges him off the back of his defeats by Oleksandr Usyk.
Dubois on Saturday, at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England, becomes the first challenger to Wardley in his reign as WBO heavyweight champion, and does so on the occasion of his first fight since Usyk inflicted his third defeat.
It was in July 2025 in his rematch with Usyk that Dubois produced the least convincing display of his three defeats – the first came against Joe Joyce in 2020 – when he was stopped in five rounds but appeared capable of fighting on.
He was also stopped by Usyk in 2023, over the course of nine more competitive rounds, and in 10 by Joyce, but when he had horrifically suffered a fractured orbital socket by his left eye.
If it is harsh to hold against him the nature of the defeat by Joyce, even at a time when Usyk is widely considered the finest fighter in the world, his defeats against the Ukrainian are cited by Dubois’ critics as evidence that he lacks heart.
It perhaps helps little in the context of Saturday’s contest that Wardley, 31, endured so bruising-and-bloody a battle against Frazer Clarke in 2024 and won from losing positions against Justis Huni and Joseph Parker in 2025, but Dubois insists that his self-belief is unaffected because of Usyk’s remarkable abilities, and that he is relishing testing himself against Wardley in the way that he previously did against Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua before the second time Usyk was put in his path.
“I fought against the best fighter of a generation, so I’m not really down or nothing, just thinking about how we move forward and about a lot of personal things,” Dubois said.
“Lessons learned are that he’s a great southpaw fighter. He’s a great southpaw, great champion, and I’ve got to go back to the drawing board and come again. I feel like we’re going to get it right this time though, with the training and how everything is going to be perfect – I just have a feeling.
“He’s the greatest fighter of the generation. He’s like your Muhammad Alis – a generational great – but here I am now in a real-life fight now.
“It’s just a process and to be honest I was straight back on it and looking to line up who’s next, watching the heavy division and seeing who’s going to be next and I’m glad I’ve got this opportunity.
“[Wardley’s] nothing like him. Usyk is southpaw, whereas I’m going to have answers for Fabio. He might try southpaw, but I’m experienced now. I’ve faced Usyk twice; I’ve faced ‘AJ’; I’ve faced all these great fighters. I’ve got that experience on my side.”
Dubois, 28, downplayed the consequences of his attending a house party earlier in the day of his third defeat – “That wasn’t a factor; that had nothing to do with that; that was in the past now anyway, so I’m moving on from that” – and also, initially, about his separation from his then-trainer Don Charles, who he replaced with Tony Sims until replacing Sims with Charles when confirmation of his date with the heavy-handed Wardley neared.
“Don’s my trainer for my next fight, and I’m glad to be back with him – that’s all that matters,” he said. “It’s no disrespect to Tony, obviously Tony’s good, but this is the best decision I’ve made for my career.
“It’s a great gym and it feels like my energy and spirit is in [Charles’] gym. I feel like I’m home.
“We just had a bit of a break after the fight. We just had a bit of a break and thought about things. Boxing’s always changing.”
Sims had long targeted for Dubois the fight with Wardley. Charles, too, is characteristically confident that they will win. For all of Dubois’ experience, however – which includes sparring Wardley almost a decade ago; they turned professional on separate promotions on the same date of April 8, 2017 – his fellow Englishman offers a relative rawness and unpredictability that he hasn’t previously seen.
“He’s been lucky up until now – he’s been lucky,” he said. “I’m going to be the man to take his 0. I’ve done it before and I’m going to do it again.
“I mean [he’s been lucky in the way] he’s pulled it out of the bag; he’s unorthodox, so a lot of fighters out there, they’re not used to that; they do things just out of reactions; it’s different. I’m going to be ready for him on fight night.
“[To negate that I’ll] just work off the jab; pumping that jab and getting into the rhythm. I’m going to have all the answers. Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in their mouth.
“We sparred years back. I dominated him in the spars back then. I was dominating him, but I understand things change; he’s come on since then obviously. I’m looking for the best version of him and I’ll be the best version for sure.
“We were in for good old tear-ups, but I was the one in charge and I’m going to be doing it again. It will be the same story and I’ll be a two-time champion of the world.
“Credit to him, he’s beating all the guys that he’s faced. You’ve got to take your hat off to that. He’s wanted the biggest challenges and he’s taken them on and I respect him for that.
“I love fighting punchers and guys that are like that. Bring it on.
“I feel like the luckiest guy in boxing. It’s just one after the other, and I’ve been grateful to [my promoter] Frank Warren, my dad [Dave], and the support network I have around me for manoeuvring me to keep my spirits high so that we can come again.
“I was elated. This is my chance from God; he’s given me this opportunity and I can’t let myself down or my team down and this is the time to dig deeper than ever before.”
