After stopping Fabio Wardley in May, Daniel Dubois does not believe the rematch will be close. Despite coming out on top of a back-and-forth war, ‘Dynamite’ does not even believe his 31-year-old counterpart has ever seen the best version of himself.
Wardley entered the May title fight as the defending champion and activated his rematch clause to set up chapter two on Saturday. Dubois continues to dismiss the fight as a challenge, claiming he “didn’t even train that hard” for the first matchup.
“I was pretty overweight [in the first fight],” Dubois said, via DAZN. “I didn’t even train that hard for that fight… [Wardley] did the best he can. All jokes aside, it was a great war; that was a good fight. I can’t say enough about that.”
Dubois gave himself a “4 out of 10” rating for his performance in that fight due to his supposed lack of preparation. He still had enough in the tank to overwhelm Wardley late in the fight and earn the late stoppage, which convinces the former champion that the confession is nothing more than a mind game.
“I don’t think many people believe that,” Wardley said. “You’re not going to get through 11 rounds of a fight like that just kind of rolling in off the sofa. And knowing Don Charles the way I do, there’s no way Don’s letting him just kind of skip through camp, just chill out and take it easy. There may be a couple of little lies in there. Plays to the camera.”
Wardley looked like he was going to score a quick win after flooring Dubois in the first round, then again in the third. But the momentum quickly shifted in favor of the challenger after the second knockdown, leading to a complete beatdown in the late rounds resulting in the stoppage.
By the time referee Howard Foster intervened, Dubois had thoroughly outlanded Wardley 179 to 97, according to Compubox.
Having already engaged in a Fight of the Year contender, Dubois and Wardley have increased the stakes for their rematch. The Englishmen have done nothing but engage in barnburners throughout their careers and exceeded high expectations in their first encounter.
Now a three-time heavyweight world champion, Dubois is the second-longest reigning champion in the division. The last time he defended a title, he violently stopped Anthony Joshua with a counter right hook in the fifth round in another classic brawl.
Dubois and Wardley’s first exchange headlined the Co-op Live in Manchester, England. They rematch at the O2 Arena in London on DAZN pay-per-view.
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