Dave Allen has expressed complete confidence in his prediction for Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2, having identified a key difference between their first fight and rematch.
The two heavyweights squared off in a brutal battle the first time around, with Dubois becoming a two-time world champion by dethroning Wardley for the WBO title.
Despite flooring his man in rounds one and three, Wardley was unable to maintain his control and, eventually, found himself on the receiving end of an 11th-round finish.
After losing their May contest in convincing fashion, the 31-year-old then activated the rematch clause in their contract and, five months later, will have the opportunity to reclaim his title at London’s O2 Arena tomorrow evening.
As one of the division’s biggest punchers, Wardley could certainly exact his revenge but, this time around, Dubois appears to be more widely accepted as the clear favourite.
Speaking on talkSPORT, heavyweight veteran Allen, who has previously sparred the 29-year-old, said he agrees with this general perception.
“For me, Dubois’ a big favourite. It’s totally different now – he comes in full of confidence.
“Wardley got a good hiding in the end [of their first fight]; it was horrific for the last three or four rounds. I thought it went on too long.
“You don’t wanna face a confident Daniel Dubois – we’re going to get that this time. The first time, we didn’t [get a confident Dubois] … and he still won.”
Ahead of their first fight, Dubois was coming off a fifth-round stoppage defeat to Oleksandr Usyk and therefore might have been lacking a degree of confidence.
