Manchester seems poised to host it’s second all-British heavyweight world title contest as Fabio Wardley gears up for a first defence of the WBO heavyweight title against Daniel Dubois. Now, Carl Froch has named which fighter he believes will enter the bout as the ‘strong favourite’.
Wardley pulled off the upset to halt Joseph Parker and claim the WBO Interim crown back in October, with Oleksandr Usyk opting to vacate the full WBO title the following month resulting in the Ipswich man being upgraded to world champion.
Ever since, Wardley has been on the lookout for a fight that would prove that he is a worthy titleholder and not a ‘paper champion’. Suddenly, he looks to have found his match, with former IBF champion Daniel Dubois keen to bounce back from defeat to Usyk and reclaim world honours.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froch spoke with intrigue ahead of the fight, questioning both Dubois’ mentality and Wardley’s inexperience against the division’s biggest punchers.
“This is a proper fight, this is a fight where I am like ‘what is going to happen here?’. You gave got Daniel Dubois, we know how good he is but when he is under the cosh and it’s hard for him, it’s almost like when the tough gets going, the going gets tough, but he looks for the exit signs.”
“Losing to Oleksandr Usyk is no disgrace but he [Dubois] is a massive puncher. A big, hard hitter. Fabio Wardley has never really been in there [with a big puncher].
“You have got Justis Huni, you have got Joseph Parker, you’ve got Frazer Clarke, [David] Adeleye, he has fought him. None of them are really bangers, are they? None of them can really punch hard, for a heavyweight.”
Then, ‘The Cobra’ went on to predict that Dubois could ‘cause some damage’ if he is switched on for the bout, labelling him as the ‘strong favourite’ in the proposed scrap.
“This might be the one where actually, he [Wardley] finds out what pro boxing is all about because Daniel Dubois, if he is firing on all cylinders and he fancies the job, he could end up really causing some damage and knocking out Fabio Wardley bad.
“But, Fabio Wardley has knocked out most of his opponents, he has never been done himself. I want to say that it’s a 50/50 fight on paper but in reality, you have got to make Daniel Dubois the favourite, and quite a strong favourite as well.”
An announcement for the event is expected imminently, with Saturday, May 9, being the touted date for the assumed Co-op Live arena clash.
