Dubois Retains WBO Title with Second-Round Stoppage
Daniel Dubois defeated Fabio Wardley in a rematch at the O2 Arena, retaining his WBO heavyweight title. The fight concluded with a second-round stoppage following a dominant performance by Dubois.
What happened
- Daniel Dubois secured a second-round stoppage victory over Fabio Wardley in their heavyweight rematch at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday.
- Dubois, who previously won the WBO title from Wardley in May, dominated the fight from the opening bell, flooring Wardley with a straight right punch within 17 seconds.
- Wardley struggled to cope with Dubois’s attack and was subsequently stopped by the referee.
- Dubois stated his intention to ‘show that we just had to go out there and show that we mean business’ and that ‘it was my time and my era’.
- He previously defeated Wardley in the 11th round of their first fight in Manchester, overcoming two knockdowns.
- Dubois’s record stands at 24 wins with three defeats, while Wardley’s is 20 wins and two defeats.
- Following the victory, Dubois expressed his desire for a rematch with Filip Hrgovic, the IBF champion, and stated his ambition to ‘get my old belt back and rule the division’.
- Hrgovic was ringside and commented that it was ‘an easy night for Daniel’.
Original reporting
- BBC: Dubois vs Wardley 2: What next for heavyweight division after Dubois win?
2026-10-18T09:55:31+00:00 - Al Jazeera: Boxing: Dubois forces second-round stoppage of Wardley to retain WBO belt
2026-10-18T06:34:02+00:00 - Sky News: Dubois retains WBO title with crushing win over British rival
2026-10-17T13:28:00+00:00