As a battered and bruised Fabio Wardley made his way to the back following his fight with Daniel Dubois in May – right eye closed, nose sprinkled, his white trunks now pink with Ipswich Town-themed – the now-former WBO world champion had one thought and one thought only: “Put me in.”
Wardley had recently been on the losing end of a firefight that he could have had in his pockets within 15 seconds. His first-round knockout of Dubois was followed by another two rounds later, sending the 31-year-old’s criticism of his slow start to the scrapheap once and for all. Alas, it was in the third round where Dubois turned the tide with one sharp right. A flurry of penalties followed for Dynamite, proving their heart without a doubt, and Wardley finally stopped on 11.
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His first career loss was brutal to deal with. But Wardley would not sink into failure; not according to Asked at what point the rematch, which goes down at the O2 Arena in London, this Saturday, Wardley said: “Immediately. I was sitting in the changing room and I think I was looking for Francis. [Warren, his promoter]. I was like, ‘Somebody go get Frank and tell him to do this again in November,’ right away.
Shaken and bruised, Fabio Wardley immediately asked his promoter Francis Warren to arrange a rematch against Daniel Dubois (Getty).
“What else am I going to do? Go, ‘No,’ and run in a different direction or ‘No, I think I need two or three punches to get me back.’ I need my credit back.” F*** what. No. Get me back in. I’m going to fix myself. I’m doing injuries. I’m going to fix this, we’ll be back again.
Wardley was back in the gym within two weeks. As a perspective, he insists that within hours of the battle it was business as usual. He returned to work by 4am on Sunday morning. “I know it sounds really weird to say, but I’d be fine,” he said. “I had a swollen eye and a cut nose, and I was a little tired and whatever. But overall I was thin. I still had the mass of the baby rolling over my shoulder, and I stood there for half an hour going down and either way. I was still able to turn.”
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She is expecting another child in December, giving her a little more breathing room post-fight than she had for her firstborn, who arrived a week after her victory over Justis Hun in June 2025. He says neither thought: “It just popped!”
Some fighters have their own children’s causes. Others are more aware of the health and dangers of fighting in parentage. Wardley appeared to fall into the latter camp after fighting the Madness of the Hun, saying that he wanted to avoid being in so many wars to “keep years of my life.” He is about to enter the ring again with the man with whom he shared the greatest battle of his life. “I don’t hear you,” he conceded.
Both Wardley the fighter and Wardley the father, the two have to divide. “It’s Jekyll and Hyde walking, they’re two different people,” he explained. “I love my son with every part of my heart, but I guess in the sweetest way, there’s absolutely no reason for me when I’m in the middle of the ring, because it can’t be. That factor can’t be in my brain, otherwise I’m not going to achieve great things.”
Wardley (right) goes to war with WBO world heavyweight champion Dubois (left) again this Saturday (Getty)
Moving forward from the setback five months ago required Wardley to do something he had never done before: look back at the fight he had lost. To begin with, he was doing this alone on a stormy night, waiting for his partner and baby to sleep before he read over the footage: “I knew I wasn’t really enjoying my mission.” From what he’s learned, he can adjust where needed, and while he obviously won’t share that information before fight night, he believes his malleability will shine through in the rematch.
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“I think we should all be honest and honest about this room for growth between us in my favor,” Wardley declared. I didn’t take Daniel away at all. He is a good fighter: he does well, and has filled in for several years.
“But there is room for change and growth and adjustment in style.” [is something] which I proved in various fights against different fighters. I have not seen the same in all my fights. I had to adapt and change everything around. This is already tried and tested in my books. You just need to get back into this fight.”
Wardley says the reason for the increase is far greater for him than Dubois (PA).
Wardley continues to repeat the same summation of the first battle in the build-up to the second: “I was defeated by my victory.” He was there with Dubois to take the necessary compromise. But when he takes eight into the fight, Wardley is quiet; That night Manchester assured him that he already had the foundations to beat Dubois.
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It can hit him pretty hard. “This ticked fish, I can knock you out – and not once, twice. The tooth doesn’t prove; it’s a constant action, what I can do,” said Wardley. Yes, but for the Internet. When asked about Dubois’ fans, he denied that he was particularly shocked: “I’m not going to be a disrespectful person, saying that it wasn’t a big punch or I didn’t feel it. I did – it just wasn’t… that I was bothered by it.”
Wardley is confident that this season he will find a way to get past Dubois at the O2 Arena. Redemption struck his mind from the moment. But it wasn’t just personal revenge that motivated the quick turnaround. The military has changed into heavy weight; Wardley refuses to become the character of the new generation.
Wardley says he’s not bothered by Dubois’ power (Getty)
“I saw how quickly a division can be turned on its head. [Oleksandr] Usyk vacated the belts, and all of a sudden he was doing all these punches and all these things. If I just sit on the road, I can remain lost in the darkness,’ he said.
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Looking to fill the hole Usyk is out of shape at the very top, I immediately risk this rematch. Back-to-back defeats could send Wardley plummeting out of the world title picture. On the difficulty of rebuilding Wardley in the event of another loss, Warren said, “It depends on how he loses,” before the Queen’s leader – who also promotes Dubois – quickly hinted that there is only one way out: “I’m not going to go the distance. Not these two.”
This show will not be inactive; There are career stakes in the game. Dubois succeeded, having previously suffered from failure, against Wardley. No longer surrounded by the mystique of invincibility, Wardley now tries his turn.