Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley are set to run it back after a Fight of the Year contender in May, but Tony Bellew and Eddie Hearn have differing opinions on their assessment of the upcoming rematch.
After being elevated to WBO heavyweight world champion late last year, Wardley made a first defence against former IBF ruler Dubois, and scored two early knockdowns.
However, Dubois was able to bounce back and grind out an inspiring win as he turned the fight on its head and halted the Ipswich fan-favourite in round 11 to become a two-time heavyweight champion.
Speaking with DAZN Boxing, Hearn admitted that he sees Wardley as a ‘massive underdog’ ahead of his second counter with ‘Triple D’, despite backing him to come out on top in their initial meeting.
“I backed Fabio to win that [first] fight, right? It was the first time I ever backed him to win in the last five fights that he has been in – and he lost, but he was incredible.
“I think that he is a massive underdog in the second fight.”
Bellew disagreed with his former promoter, believing the upcoming match-up to be a lot closer given the beginning of the first affair.
“He is not [a] massive [underdog]. 60/40 I edge it towards Daniel. Did you not see the amount of damage that he [Wardley] put on Daniel, are you forgetting that he had Daniel down twice?”
Hearn then said that Wardley ‘took a pasting’ in the first fight, but applauded his decision to activate his rematch clause and initiate a world title challenge, believing that the 31-year-old will have ‘hit the jackpot’ if he can reclaim his heavyweight crown.
“I disagree … They were flash knockdowns, he took a pasting! I would be saying [to Wardley], ‘What do you want from your career?’, and I actually think that Fabio Wardley is not a guy that wants to be around for years and years and years.
“He has made a lot of money, very quickly, but he has got an opportunity to probably make another couple of million in this fight. Roll the dice. If he wins, he has hit the absolute jackpot.”
