Daniel Dubois stops Fabio Wardley in second round to retain WBO title

Daniel Dubois retained his WBO heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley at London’s O2 Arena, winning their rematch five months after beating him in an 11-round contest in Manchester. [1]

Dubois floored Wardley with a straight right in the opening 20 seconds. Wardley made it through the first round, but Dubois’s sustained attack in the second prompted Wardley’s corner to throw in the towel.

The victory was Dubois’s second consecutive stoppage of his British rival. He extended his professional record to 24 wins, including 23 by knockout, and three defeats. Wardley, 31, now has two defeats in 23 professional fights.

Dubois 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.” He added that, unlike their first fight, “this time we just had to go out there and show that we mean business”.