Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois are set to collide for the WBO heavyweight world title in six weeks’ time.
After being elevated to WBO world champion, Wardley is seeking to prove that he is a worthy heavyweight ruler, accepting a difficult, daring and potentially destructive dust-up with former IBF champion Dubois.
Meanwhile, for Dubois, he bounces straight back into what will be a third consecutive world title contest, after losing his belt to Oleksandr Usyk in the summer.
In an interview with Pro Boxing Fans, Italian heavyweight Guido Vianello recalled sparring both men, revealing that Dubois is a stronger puncher than Wardley, but that the intelligence and movement of the Ipswich man is impressive.
“When Dubois is in the right position and he throws his right-hand, it is stronger than Fabio, but a smart boxer makes a difficult fight [for Daniel] and Fabio is very smart. His movement is very difficult to understand for big guys like us.”
‘The Gladiator’ also provided his fight prediction, believing that Wardley will get the nod on the scorecards.
“Daniel is a very dangerous heavyweight, his right-hand is very dangerous but Fabio is so smart. I was in the arena for Fabio Wardley versus [Joseph] Parker, with Team Parker, and Fabio was very smart for all the rounds.
“It will be a great fight and it looks like Fabio is working well in the gym, his strength and conditioning is so good. So, I think that Fabio can win that fight with his smart head, his fast punches and he moves his head in a very strange position. I think that Wardley wins on points.”
Wardley-Dubois takes place on Saturday, May 9, at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, with the undercard for the event now officially unveiled.
