Fabio Wardley will face Daniel Dubois in an all-British world heavyweight title fight on Saturday May 9.
WBO champion Wardley makes the first defence of his belt against Dubois in a clash between two destructive punchers at The Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester.
Wardley was crowned as the new WBO king in November after unified champion Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the belt instead of making a mandatory title defence against the Ipswich fighter.
Tyson Fury has admitted that he would be open to a world title fight against Wardley later this year, but firstly the unbeaten 31-year-old must defeat Dubois.
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Fabio Wardley has welcomed a future fight against Tyson Fury
Wardley said: “I’ve never been in this game to mess around or play small. Big fights only!
“I’m the champion, this is a voluntary defence. I picked him.
“One thing you can’t say about me is that I’ve ever shied away from a challenge. I’ve always continuously picked the biggest challenges out there. I’m not scared of any man in this division.
“This is one of the biggest fights out there now that could of been made in the heavyweight division.
“With me you’re always guaranteed an all-action fight, but this one is going to be fireworks from the first bell.”
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Former British and Commonwealth champion David Price believes Wardley is the No 1 heavyweight in Britain
Mike Ofo, Wardley’s manager, said: “This is a huge moment – a massive all-British clash, and I expect Fabio to break Daniel Dubois’ spirit on May 9th.
“Fabio has never ducked a challenge, he welcomes the competition.”
Dubois is aiming to become a world champion after his reign as IBF title holder was ended by a knockout defeat to Usyk in their Wembley rematch in July.
After defeat in that undisputed world title fight, Dubois split from trainer Don Charles but he has now returned to the cornerman ahead of an explosive encounter with Wardley.
All of Wardley’s wins have come by knockout since his professional debut and any debate about his draw with Frazer Clarke was swiftly silenced by a whirlwind first-round stoppage win in their rematch in October 2024.
Since then Wardley has boosted his reputation with a dramatic one-punch knockout of Justis Huni and a stunning 11th-round stoppage of Joseph Parker to claim the WBO interim title in October.
Dubois had also been on a red-hot run prior to last year’s Usyk defeat as he demolished Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic before a career-best knockout win over Anthony Joshua in September 2024.
Scott: The fans are in for a treat
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Sky Sports’ Andy Scott previews Fabio Wardley’s title defence against Daniel Dubois in Manchester on Saturday, May 9 and expects fans to be in for treat.
Sky Sports’ boxing expert Andy Scott:
“The fan in me – when i listed the fights I’d most like to see at the start of the year – this would have been right up there. The fans are in for an absolute treat.
“Frank Warren called it ‘don’t blink’. I think the promoters have got that one right – both men have a knockout ratio over 90%.
“They’ve got different boxing styles and comtrasting personalities, but the common denominator is that they’re both fearsome punchers.
“I’d be very surprised if this one goes twelve rounds.
“This fight will divide everybody. You can’t make a great case for one to outweigh the other.
“Fabio Wardley doesn’t know when he’s beaten. He didn’t have any amateur boxing experience – only a handful of whitecollar fights. Imagine you signed up to a whitecollar charity fight and you boxed Fabio Wardley!
“On the other side of that, you have Dubois. He was a child prodigy. A lot of people though his fight vs Joshua was a dangerous mismatch – but he absolutely did a number on Joshua that night.
“Can you genuinely say who’s going to win? I don’t think you could.”
