Daniel Dubois is set to challenge Fabio Wardley for the heavyweight throne in a matter of weeks, as he sets about becoming a two-time world champion. Ahead of the fight, both men have opened up on their previous sparring sessions.
‘Triple D’ was elevated to IBF heavyweight world champion in June 2024, after dramatic knockout wins against Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic saw him emerge as a genuine elite level heavyweight.
The Londoner went on to make a spectacular solitary defence of the title, halting Anthony Joshua in a five-round massacre at Wembley Stadium in London.
However, Dubois’ reign was brought to an end when he rematched Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title and was stopped after five rounds himself, under that same arch at England’s national football stadium.
Since then, Usyk’s relinquishment of the WBO strap saw Ipswich’s Wardley upgraded to become the United Kingdom’s 11th heavyweight world champion and the 31-year-old fan-favourite now faces Dubois in an attempted first defence.
In an interview with BoxNation, Dubois spoke with excitement ahead of his opportunity to claim world honours for a second time, labelling Wardley as ‘lucky’ but recognising how much he has improved since their sparring sessions.
“He has done well [since we sparred], hasn’t he? He has done well, he has shocked a lot of people, a lot of top level boxers, he has come from behind and got lucky, so that is something to watch out for. What can you say, he has been lucky so far.”
“[Our spars were] tear-up’s, all the time in the gym. I was on-form. He gave me good work back then. He has come on, obviously, since then, so I am just looking at him as someone that I have got to beat to get my belt back and go down as a legend.”
Meanwhile, speaking with Seconds Out, Wardley also reflected on their spars of old, admitting that Dubois ‘got the better of him’ in the gym but believing that counts for very little ahead of their title clash.
“Yeah, [we sparred] a long time ago. When I was first starting out, I don’t know if I’d had my debut by then, maybe one or two fights professionally.
“He got the better of me, but I don’t care. I am not going to take no stock in something that happened eight-plus years ago. I had laced up a pair of gloves for maybe a total of three years and Daniel had been boxing since he was like 10 years old.
“I’m not going to make them two comparisons and think it [would have gone] any different. If anything, it shows how much I have come on in that short space of time, versus him.”
Wardley and Dubois collide on Saturday, May 9, at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
