Fabio Wardley will make the first defense of his WBO heavyweight title against former IBF champion Daniel Dubois in an all-British heavyweight blockbuster on May 9.
Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani first reported the news Tuesday.
Uncrowned confirmed the fight will take place in the UK, although the venue is still to be determined.
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Wardley vs. Dubois will stream on DAZN pay-per-view and Ultimate.
Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) came from behind on the scorecards to stop Joseph Parker in Round 11 of their WBO interim title fight this past October. Then-undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk was subsequently ordered to defend his belts against Wardley, however the Ukrainian ultimately chose to vacate his WBO championship instead, which allowed Wardley to be upgraded to full title-holder.
Prior to that win, Wardley was a mile behind against Australia’s Justis Huni before producing a dramatic turnaround knockout in Round 10. Wardley, who had no amateur experience, has also held the British and Commonwealth titles at domestic level in the UK.
Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk in their four-belt unification rematch in July at Wembley Stadium. Dubois entered the bout on an impressive three-fight win streak, having won the IBF interim title by stopping Filip Hrgovic in June 2024 and then being upgraded to full champion soon thereafter. Dubois turned himself into a household name in the UK with a massive upset win over Anthony Joshua in front of a record crowd of 96,000 at Wembley Stadium in September 2024.
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After losing to Usyk for a second time, Dubois left his trainer, Don Charles, who had guided him to the world title, and teamed up with Tony Sims. In a shocking u-turn just a couple of weeks ago, though, Dubois chose to leave Sims and go back to Charles.
Wardley and Dubois own a combined 42 wins with 40 of them coming inside the distance, meaning it’ll be a firefight when the heavyweight duo goes head-to-head for the world title this summer.
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