Dubois Retains WBO Heavyweight Title With Brutal Second-Round Stoppage of Wardley
Daniel Dubois quickly avenged his earlier struggles against Fabio Wardley, dropping him within seconds and forcing a second-round stoppage to retain his WBO heavyweight crown.
Daniel Dubois retained his WBO heavyweight title with a dominant second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley at London's O2 Arena on October 17, 2026, delivering a decisive answer to the contentious first fight five months earlier.
Dubois, now 24-3 with 23 knockouts, dropped Wardley inside the opening 15 seconds with a sharp jab-right combination and never looked back. Referee Steve Gray halted the bout at 2:21 of round two after Wardley's corner tossed in the towel while the champion was unloading flurries against the ropes.
The result stood in stark contrast to their May encounter at Manchester's Co-Op Live Arena, where Dubois had to survive two knockdowns before stopping Wardley in the 10th round. This time, the champion controlled from the first bell, landing heavier shots at will while Wardley struggled to mount any meaningful offense.
After the victory, IBF champion Filip Hrgovic entered the ring for a respectful exchange, and both fighters expressed interest in a unification bout. Dubois said he is looking forward to big-money unification fights in 2027 following Oleksandr Usyk's vacating of his four world championships.
The sources behind the story
Read the original reporting and primary evidence.
- Daniel Dubois retains his WBO title against Fabio WardleySkyNews · Primary source
- Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley 2 full card results as DDD retains WBO heavyweight title with brutal rematch demolitionwww.msn.com
- Daniel Dubois annihilates Fabio Wardley in less than 4 minutes in WBO heavyweight title rematchsports.yahoo.com
- Daniel Dubois brutally stops Fabio Wardley to retain WBO world heavyweight title in rematchwww.aol.co.uk
- Daniel Dubois Crushes Fabio Wardley In Second Roundwww.boxingnews24.com
- Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2: Fight video highlightswww.fightmag.com
- Daniel Dubois runs through Fabio Wardley with second-round TKO to retain heavyweight titlewww.cbssports.com
- And still! Daniel Dubois steamrolls Fabio Wardley with early TKO to retain heavyweight title | Videowww.msn.com
- Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley 2 full fight video highlightswww.msn.com
- Boxing - Dubois stops Wardley in second round to retain WBO heavyweight titlewww.msn.com
- Dubois Destroys Wardley, Records 2nd-Round TKO In Rematchwww.ringmagazine.com
See how claims connect to sources
Daniel Dubois retained his WBO heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley at London's O2 Arena on October 17, 2026.
confirmedDubois dropped Wardley inside the opening 15 seconds and the fight was halted at 2:21 of round two after Wardley's corner threw in the towel.
confirmedIBF champion Filip Hrgovic entered the ring after Dubois' win, and both men expressed interest in a unification bout in 2027.
confirmed