One heavyweight contender who has shared multiple rounds of sparring with Daniel Dubois has predicted the upcoming clash with Fabio Wardley.
The pair will collide for Wardley’s WBO world title on May 9, headlining a Queensberry Promotions card at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
Entering their showdown as a marginal favourite, Wardley comes off a stunning 11th-round finish over Joseph Parker last October, after which he was elevated from ‘interim’ to full WBO champion.
This was because Oleksandr Usyk had vacated his belt towards the end of last year, rather than fulfil his mandatory obligation against the Ipswich man.
As a result, Dubois has been presented with an immediate world title opportunity after suffering a fifth-round stoppage defeat to Usyk in July.
Against Wardley, though, the 28-year-old is set to encounter a drastically different opponent, with their 95% knockout-to-win ratios suggesting that this will be an all-action shootout between two explosive punchers.
In any event, Dubois is eager to get back in the win column after reigniting his relationship with trainer Don Charles, who is also the head coach of Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka.
Speaking with Playbook Boxing, Yoka insisted that he has not been overly impressed by Wardley, who he believes will ultimately fall short against former world champion Dubois.
“I still think Daniel will win. I think it’s 65/35 [in favour of] Daniel, because he hits really hard and he’s really good in the first five rounds.
“I don’t see Wardley dealing with that. Wardley has been through a few good boxers, but he hasn’t impressed me.
“First of all, Parker didn’t do a good fight [against Wardley]. And, second of all, the stoppage was too early.”
Many would agree that Parker implemented the wrong tactics against Wardley, while perhaps also believing that referee Howard Foster’s intervention was somewhat premature.
But still, Wardley has proven to possess world-class power at any stage in a fight, as evidenced by his 10th-round and first-round stoppages over Justis Huni and Frazer Clarke, respectively.
