Should we have been here 12 months ago, when Daniel Dubois was riding the most violent of three-fight waves and Fabio Wardley was only one contest removed from a 12-round draw with Frazer Clarke, it’s likely that Dubois, and not Wardley, would have started a contest between them as favorite.
Things have changed since then, however.
Wardley, who had already knocked out Clarke inside a round of their rematch, has come from behind to stop Justis Huni and Joseph Parker, making him very much the man in form and Dubois, who lost meekly to Oleksandr Usyk in a return last July, the justifiable underdog.
One wonders, however, if the 22-3 (21 KOs) Dubois is being judged a little too harshly for failing to beat Usyk, an undefeated fighter of mesmeric guile, who is surely destined to be remembered as one of the best to ever do it. Furthermore, it might also be true that Wardley’s wins over Huni and Parker are in the process being overrated because, though highly impressive turnarounds, we’re yet to see that approach to battle fail. For now, we presume it will always work, that Wardley, through astonishing durability, an ability to learn on the job and genetic physical strength, is somehow destined to never lose. Sooner or later, however, he will. There’s only so long you can get away with pulling things out of the fire before you get burned.
Dubois is still only 28 years old, and as the demolisher of Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller in recent years, he can certainly boast more impressive victories than Wardley at the highest level. It could be argued, for example, that both Joshua and Hrgovic would have beaten the Parker who showed up against Wardley last October, and Miller has better results on his record than Huni. What should be clear, too, is that Dubois won’t fear Wardley in the way that he might have done Usyk. For him, in fact, tonight’s date with Wardley, 20-0-1 (19 KOs), will be viewed as winnable as any bout in which he has engaged since the end of 2023.
Quite where Dubois’ mind will be on fight night is another matter, however. The cruel way in which clips have been shared of his interviews this week, with fun being poked at his obvious discomfort in such environments, has been social media at its most spiteful. Dubois first told me in 2018 he hated doing interviews and nothing has changed in that regard; he doesn’t have the gift of gab, nor the dexterity to evade questions when answers are not forthcoming. That is not his fault. Chewing the fat with strangers, very simply, is not his bag.
What he can do, very effectively, is box. His powerful jab, arguably his best punch, and trailing right are akin to being whacked by a sledgehammer moments after being clubbed by a baseball bat. When on form, and not blighted by doubt, Dubois is a formidable heavyweight. And though he has been accused of looking for a way out in his two fights with Usyk (before being stopped in five last year, he was halted in nine in 2023), he overcame moments of jeopardy against Miller, Hrgovic and Joshua with aplomb.
The rapid upward trajectory of Wardley, however, should not be underestimated. The 31-year-old’s late start and roots in white-collar boxing do not need explaining again here, but it should be noted that he had no business getting as far as he has. That he enters this 12-rounder at Manchester, England’s Co-op Live Arena, as the WBO heavyweight titlist is frankly incredible when one considers his lack of education.
However, it is those rather rudimentary beginnings that seem to suit his natural style and mindset. Wardley, who is defined by success and progression, tends to trust only two things: his own instincts and the advice of his coaching team. When rooted in such positivity, there simply isn’t any room for doubt in his head. As admirable as that trait is, there will naturally come a time when the challenge in front of him is too great for bloody-mindedness alone.
For periods of Wardley’s first battle with Clarke, a British title fight in March 2024, it did appear that the slugger from Ipswich, England, had reached his ceiling. But what he has done since then, and what he has been doing since Day 1 of this whole adventure, is seek out the hardest challenges to keep on improving. His desire to win, and the belief that he still can even when he has barely won a round, is one area in which the 31-year-old Wardley does appear superior to Dubois. And it’s that self-belief in a hard fight, particularly considering the power that Wardley himself possesses, that can make all the difference.
But what if Dubois, boxing behind his jab, and letting fly when Wardley strays too close, simply doesn’t let his opponent craft the kind of chances he’ll require to win? What if Dubois is in control early and the notion of this being a hard fight is true only for Wardley? That’s certainly feasible when one reflects on Dubois at his most destructive. And when have we seen Dubois gain control of a bout only to relinquish it? Though he had brief moments of success against Usyk, it would be wildly untrue to suggest Dubois ever had a true foothold. And similarly against Joe Joyce in 2020, when Dubois was stopped late due to a fractured skull, there was always a sense he was chasing, not commanding.
Though Wardley has proved his toughness multiple times, to suggest that he can’t get knocked out is simply untrue. They can all “go,” and in Dubois he meets a puncher with a level of potency he has yet to encounter in a professional ring.
Those picking Wardley to win do so with sound logic. After all, why bet against a man who always finds a way to triumph? Particularly when that man is facing a fighter known to trip over his own mental gymnastics when faced with a puzzle he can’t solve. The feeling here, however, is that Wardley will not deliver the same kind of psychological bemusement to Dubois; he will be in position to hit and get hit, which is exactly where Dubois likes them. It’s also true that Wardley might get hit several times and only need to land one himself to win. But if Dubois is in his groove early in the bout, as recent Wardley opponents have tended to be, he surely brings enough firepower to eventually get the better of his foe and win inside schedule.
Matt Christie, a lifelong fight fan, has worked in boxing for more than 20 years. He left Boxing News in 2024 after 14 years, nine of which were spent as editor-in-chief. Before that, he was the producer of weekly boxing show “KOTV.” Now the co-host of ”The Opening Bell” podcast and regularly used by Sky Sports in the UK as a pundit, Matt was named as the Specialist Correspondent of the Year at the prestigious Sports Journalism Awards in 2021, which was the seventh SJA Award he accepted during his stint in the hot seat at Boxing News. The following year, he was inducted into the British Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a member of the BWAA and has been honored several times in their annual writing awards.
