Daniel Dubois Keeps WBO Heavyweight Title With Second-Round Win Over Fabio Wardley

Daniel Dubois has kept his WBO heavyweight title after stopping Fabio Wardley in the second round of their rematch in London.

The fight took place at the O2 Arena, where a crowd of 19,000 people came to watch. Among those in attendance were Paddy Considine, Rob Beckett, Noel Gallagher and Luke Littler.

Dubois, who is 29, knocked Wardley down with a straight right hand inside the first 20 seconds of the bout. Wardley was dropped after 17 seconds of the first round.

The fight ended in the second round, when Wardley's corner threw in the towel. Trainer Ben Davison was the one who made that decision for Wardley.

The two men had met before. Five months earlier in Manchester, Dubois beat Wardley in an 11-round contest, after climbing off the canvas twice.

Wardley, who is 31, lost for the second time in his professional career of 23 fights. He turned professional in 2017, after four white-collar fights, and became a world heavyweight champion less than a decade later.

Dubois now has a professional record of 24 wins and three defeats, and 23 of his wins came by knockout. His earlier victories include wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua. He has lost to Oleksandr Usyk, in 2023 and again last year.

IBF champion Filip Hrgovic and Dubois both want a rematch. Dubois said he wants to face whoever is next in line and pursue big fights.