Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley are set to collide in a rematch for the WBO heavyweight world title next month, and reigning WBC heavyweight ruler Agit Kabayel has shared his thoughts on the fight.
Dubois twice picked himself up off the canvas and rallied to a round 11 stoppage when tasked with Wardley in May, bringing the reign of the Ipswich fan-favourite to an early end and becoming a two-time world champion by capturing the WBO belt.
Despite appearing to be damaged in the fight, Wardley quickly activated his rematch clause to initiate his shot at vengeance, with the pair now scheduled to headline in London in four weeks’ time.
Speaking to Playbook Boxing, Kabayel agreed with Oleksandr Usyk’s assessment of Dubois and Wardley’s initial encounter, predicting a Dubois repeat win but telling Wardley that he can level the scores if he better utilises his jab.
“I think maybe Daniel win, but this is heavyweight boxing.”
“Definitely [Wardley has a chance], but I watched the reaction from Usyk for the fight with Fabio and Daniel and what Usyk said is correct, Fabio lost this fight on his jab. He forgot his jab, he came only with the right-hand.
“When Fabio makes this better in the second fight, he can beat him.
“I don’t know if this is boxing politics but for the UK fans, this is the biggest fight in the heavyweight division.
“The winner of the fight, maybe he can fight with [Filip] Hrgovic or he fights with me for the belts. This is the way for everyone, but we will see.”
Dubois-Wardley II takes place at the O2 Arena on Saturday, October 17, where the winner may choose to target a future unification clash with Kabayel.
