Seventeen Seconds to an Answer: Dubois Stops Wardley in Two to Keep the WBO Title

Seventeen seconds. That's how long it took Daniel Dubois to answer every question about the rematch.

Dubois dropped Fabio Wardley with a straight right in the opening seconds on Saturday night at The O2 in London, kept the pressure on through a brutal first round, and finished the job in the second when Wardley's trainer, Ben Davison, threw in the towel. The official time was 2:21 of round 2, and Dubois keeps his WBO heavyweight title.

Five months ago in Manchester, Dubois had to climb off the canvas twice before stopping Wardley in the 11th round to take the belt. This one had none of that drama. Dubois, 29, moves to 24-3 with 23 knockouts. Wardley, 31, takes the second loss of his 23-fight career, both of them to Dubois.

From boxbid.ioGuess the PurseHow much did they get paid? The closest guess wins free points. Guess

What happened

Wardley's best shot, everybody figured, was another fast start. Instead Dubois walked him into a corner and put him down first. Wardley beat the count, but Dubois landed at will for the rest of the round and had him in deep trouble near the bell, with Davison already poised with a towel in his hand. Davison took heat for not pulling Wardley out sooner the first time, and he wasn't going to let it happen twice. When Dubois trapped Wardley in the corner again in the second and unloaded, the towel came in.

There was talk all week about whether Wardley came back too soon after the beating he took in May. Fair or not, he looked like a fighter who had. His hands were low, his punches were wide, and the power that had Dubois on the floor in Manchester never showed up. Dubois' manager had called a knockout before round 5 during a feisty fight week, and they had plenty of rounds to spare.

What they said

"Fabio is a great boy, coming in for the second time, but it was my time and my era. I had my intentions, bad intentions from the beginning," Dubois told BBC Sport. "My back was against the wall the first time, this time we just had to go out there and show that we mean business."

From boxbid.ioPlay Fantasy Boxing, freePick every fight on the card. Win points and the weekly Ringside badge. Play

Wardley took it like a pro. "There is no shame in a loss when you're testing yourself against the best," he said, per the BBC.

What's next

IBF champion Filip Hrgovic, whom Dubois stopped in June 2024, climbed into the ring afterward for a face-off, and both men sounded up for a unification rematch. The Ring posted the two trading "Anytime!" in the ring. Don't book it yet, though. BBC Sport reports Frank Warren wants Hrgovic to make his first title defense in Croatia before any unification fight.

The bigger payday could be the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua on Dec. 11 in Cardiff, which Warren says will be for the WBA title. Asked who he wants, Dubois kept it simple: "Whoever is next in line, really. I'm the champion now, and I want to get some big fights in. At this stage in my career, big money, big fights."

On the undercard

Louie O'Doherty and Michael Gomez Jr fought to a majority draw in their British and Commonwealth title fight (115-114 Gomez, 114-114 twice, per Boxing News), and Bakhodir Jalolov dropped Solomon Dacres on the way to a unanimous decision.

If you had Dubois inside two rounds in your Boxbid fight predictions, take a bow. Next time, guess the rounds on Boxbid and bank the free points. And for how we got here, go back to Friday's weigh-in numbers and our rematch preview.

Sources: BBC Sport (Kal Sajad), MMA Fighting, Bad Left Hook, The Ring, Boxing News, Queensberry Promotions, World Boxing News.