Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2: Repeat For Dubois or Revenge For Wardley?

Rarely do fights on paper translate into an entertaining scrap, but Saturday’s rematch between WBO heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley almost guarantees that a war will take place in the ring.

The heavyweight battle will take place at the O2 Arena in London, England, and will be streamed live on DAZN pay-per-view. Their first fight in May saw Dubois touch the canvas twice, while Wardley suffered a grotesque swelling of the right eye that forced the fight to be stopped in the 11th round. What does each fighter need to do to have their hand raised on Saturday night?

Daniel Dubois Needs To Be ‘Dynamite’

The 29-year-old Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) from Greenwich, England, has become a fighter who can be knocked down early in a fight but then rises to the occasion and ends up winning. This is exactly what happened in the Anthony Joshua fight and more recently against Wardley. The WBO champion finds another gear, and it’s almost as if the knockdowns wake him up. Given how Wardley was able to get to him in the first and third rounds in the first fight, what would Dubois have to do to avoid getting in trouble early in the fight and retain his WBO title?

Dubois needs to relax when the fight begins. You can see he wants to do so much that he loses focus for a split second. That’s what gets him in trouble. Dubois has to go in there thinking he doesn’t have to knock out Wardley in the first round. Fighting off the left jab and keeping Wardley at a distance will force his opponent to lunge forward and make a mistake. Wardley is going to expect Dubois to go for bombs upstairs, but instead Dubois should vary his attack and go down to the body right from the start of the fight. This will eventually wear down the quicker Wardley and set him up to be knocked out later in the fight.

Fabio Wardley’s Chance Is Early In The Fight

I’m going to say first that I don’t agree with Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) coming back only five months after the first fight to rematch Dubois. He should have taken an interim fight, but here we are. On fight night, Wardley’s anxiety caused him to miss many of his punches and waste energy trying to finish Dubois after scoring those early knockdowns. Wardley’s face gave up on him, and here we are with the much-anticipated rematch. What does Wardley have to do to recapture the world title he lost just five months ago?

Wardley has to relax. He has to see the holes in Dubois’ defense instead of throwing the combinations he’s practiced in the gym. Dubois keeps his arms wide, so he is open to the uppercut and straight right hand down the middle. Dubois is muscular, so when Wardley is not throwing punches, he needs to force Dubois to chase him so Dubois can fatigue faster. Also, once Wardley establishes a rhythm, he can’t allow Dubois to think or plant his feet for a big shot. Wardley should hold on the inside at times and try to frustrate Dubois into doing something reckless, which can open up an opportunity to land a big shot.

DANIEL DUBOIS VS FABIO WARDLEY 2 PREDICTION

This quick turnaround will be a mistake for Wardley, who will get hurt worse than in the first fight. Dubois by brutal seventh-round knockout.

DANIEL DUBOIS VS FABIO WARDLEY 2 BETTING ODDS

Per BETUS, Daniel Dubois is the favorite at -340, and Fabio Wardley is the underdog at +220.

Daniel Dubois: TKO/KO -175; Decision +400

Draw: +2000

Fabio Wardley: TKO/KO +350; Decision +1400

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is a 2x award-winning writer, International Boxing Hall of Fame voter, founder and publisher of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms, including online, network TV, and promotional companies. He is an alumnus of an American Public University and a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, and contributed to The Ring Magazine, FanSidedMMA, and ProBoxTV.

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