Dubois Stops Wardley at 2:21 of the Second Round to Retain the WBO Heavyweight Title
London — WBO heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois retained his title with a one-sided and devastating second-round stoppage of fellow Briton Fabio Wardley in their rematch at London's O2 Arena on Saturday night, the fight being waved off at 2:21 of the second round.
The champion made a storming start, and Wardley's legs went from under him for a count within 17 seconds of the opening bell after a straight right hand. Wardley took a further pounding at the end of the first round and was saved by the bell, but there was no escape in the second: his trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel and referee Steve Gray stopped the contest. Dubois improved to 24 wins and 3 losses with 23 knockouts; Wardley fell to 20 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw with 19 knockouts.
Dubois had dealt Wardley his first defeat as a professional in their first meeting in Manchester last May, coming back from two knockdowns — the first after 16 seconds — to take the title in the 11th round. Wardley had been promoted to WBO champion last November after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title.
"Fabio is a great boy, coming in for the second time, but it was my time and my era. I had my intentions, bad intentions from the beginning," Dubois said afterward. "Our back was against the wall the first time — this time we just had to go out there and show that we mean business, which is what we did tonight." According to Reuters, Croatia's Filip Hrgovic has challenged Dubois to a unification fight.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：丹尼尔·杜波依斯入场资料图。照片：Editor083，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0。File photo: Daniel Dubois making his ring walk. Photo by Editor083, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
