Daniel Dubois survived the ultimate test against Fabio Wardley, recovering from two knockdowns to become heavyweight world champion again.
The heavyweight fight – branded by Frank Warren as the best he has ever promoted – was a thriller from the start. Dubois hit the deck around ten seconds in, and then again in the third round, but was the more accurate and punishing operator outside of those moments.
In his post-fight press conference, the 28-year-old winner gave huge credit to his opponent, branding him ‘a tough cookie’ in what may be the understatement of the year.
Dubois, who spoke freely after a tense fight week, also spoke candidly about his own battle in the ring after coming off a stoppage loss to heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk last year.
“What a warrior he is. He’s a tough cookie. He took my shots. God just tested me in that fight. I had to come through my inner battle after coming off a loss, so I was a bit nervy in there. But what a warrior. I’m honoured to share the ring with a fighter like Fabio … We were both in that sort of weary state. It was just a war. We both gave each other everything we had.”
Dubois then reflected on being dropped almost immediately after the opening bell.
“I needed to get whacked and come back up. I felt like a warrior in there, digging deep and coming back. I wasn’t gonna be denied. I had my dad and my people in the corner, and I couldn’t let them down … What a [shot in the first round]. I didn’t really feel it. I was like ‘wow, what am I doing here?’ I had to quickly jump back up and f***ing go for it.”
In the third, the new champion made the quick decision to take a knee when he was hurt again. In hindsight, it proved one of the most intelligent decisions of the fight, as he took over from then on, other than the spells of danger that Wardley will always pose.
Wardley somehow stayed on his feet until the stoppage, though the consensus is that he could have been pulled by his corner earlier, even despite his known ability to turn the tide.
