Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley fight preview, betting odds, prediction, how to watch

Everything you need to know about Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley as they 'Run it Back'

Both British boxers boast a 95% KO ratio

British heavyweight rivals Daniel Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) and Fabio Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) run it back five months on from their first epic encounter.

Two-time world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois defends his WBO belt to challenger Fabio Wardley on the 290th day of the year, the same day in history when England's first large-scale nuclear power station, Calder Hall, opened, which is quite fitting seeing as these two British heavyweights both possess a 95% KO ratio!

Fight Details

Date: Saturday, October 17

Venue: O2 Arena, Greenwich, London

Doors Open: 4pm

Start Time: 7pm BST / 2pm ET / 11am PT

Main Event: From 10pm BST / 5pm ET / 2pm PT

TV Channel: DAZN PPV

Price: £24.99 one-off buy

Prelim Fights will be broadcast on Queensberry YouTube channel from 4pm

The First Fight

In May 2026, Dubois found himself on the canvas within the first 10 seconds in what was a disastrous start for the former IBF world champion. Wardley came out aggressively and threw a huge right hand at Dubois' head in the first five seconds, then landed an even bigger one five seconds later, which grazed the top of Daniel's head to drop him instantly.

Dubois jumped back up straightaway, then rallied back to land some big shots in the second stanza, but another huge right hand on the top of the head in the third made Dubois take a knee, tactically choosing to go down to avoid a further attack and to use the respite.

Then Dubois came on strong, landing huge flush right hands in the fourth. His crisp jabs were landing too, bloodying the nose of Fabio. In the last minute of the sixth stanza, Dubois had Wardley staggering back into the ropes where he looked haggard, but was still bravely throwing back. More of the same in the seventh, Wardley bleeding very heavily. The Ipswich fan was swinging wildly with no real substance, just surviving and running on empty.

Somehow in the ninth, Fab managed to land a huge overhand right to snap Dubois' head to the side, but he just took it and powered onwards. Every time Wardley tried to land his right hook, Dubois rolled underneath, wise to it. The ninth round ended with Wardley held up by the ropes, yet the massacre was allowed to continue.

It was up to referee Howard Foster to stop the action in the 11th after yet another massive right hand rocked Wardley's chin just 28 seconds in. The 31-year-old could have done with being pulled out a lot earlier to avoid many of the unnecessary damage.

29-year-old Dubois and his team celebrated his second world title joyously as Fabio had to suffer the heartbreak of his first ever loss in boxing.

Fight Preview

Dubois is trained by Don Charles, the trainer credited with helping the heavyweight towards two world title triumphs. In 2022, he won the WBA Regular title in America from unbeaten Trevor Bryan, who was a very poor world champion. In his attempt to become a recognised world champion, he challenged Oleksandr Usyk in Poland in 2023, where he was outmatched over nine rounds. The main talking point was the low blow that he landed on the Ukrainian, which was ruled low by the boxer, the referee, and the WBA following a post-fight review.

Then, the man with two defeats and no legitimate world titles in his trophy cabinet came back to become the most improved fighter in the world, putting together three incredible victories against undefeated Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, then Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium, all by KO.

As the IBF champion, vastly improved and confident, he went for revenge against Usyk in 2025. Two years had passed since their first meeting, but nothing had changed, as the master defeated the Brit with ease, taking only five rounds this time. The difference in levels between the two world champions was day and night. 10 months later, the rubber-band man came back to produce that epic victory over Wardley.

Trained by Robert Hodgins, Fabio Wardle remarkably didn’t start boxing until he was 20-years-old. Working for a recruitment agency in London, he signed up for the popular white collar boxing, experienced just four fights, then turned pro in 2017. He scored a knockdown in his very first professional round, which was a sign of things to come as he went on to knock down every single one of his opponents.

He became the British heavyweight champion with a win over Nathan Gorman in 2022. 11 months later, he added Commonwealth crown with a seventh-round knockout of undefeated David Adeleye. In his second defence of the Lonsdale belt, he dropped Frazer Clarke in the fifth round, but was forced to settle for a draw at the end of an epic British battle. In the rematch, Wardley was devastating, dislocating Clarke's draw in a quick first-round KO.

He also picked up WBA Continental and WBO European belts, which set him on his way to the top 10 in the world.

In 2025, he had his best year yet, with two knockout wins over Justis Huni (round 10) and Joseph Parker (round 11) to collect both the WBA and WBO Interim titles, respectively. 23 days later, he was elevated to WBO world heavyweight champion after Usyk vacated all his titles. Not only did he achieve his dream of fighting at his beloved Portman Road, it was that year that he also became a father, rounding off an incredible 12 months.

Choosing fellow Brit 'Dangerous' Daniel Dubois for his maiden title defence was a statement of intent, but despite the bright start, it failed to go his way. In his one and only rematch so far, he took just 148 seconds to exact revenge. After knocking Dubois down in the first round of their first fight, could he replicate the success of his Frazer Clarke rematch?

Running Order

Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley
12x3 WBO world heavyweight title

Louie O'Doherty vs Michael Gomez Jr.
12x3 British and Commonwealth lightweight titles

Bakhodir Jalolov vs Solomon Dacres
10x3 Heavyweight

Nelson Birchall vs Levi Giles
10x3 Super-featherweight

Tony Curtis vs Kerim Agius
8x3 Super-flyweight

Adam Olaniyan vs TBA
4x3 Heavyweight

Leighton Birchall vs Luis Vara Carrillo
6x3 Featherweight

Fawas Aborode vs Rashid Omar
6x3 Lightweight

Manny Safari vs Jake Pollard
4x3 Featherweight

Aaron Noriega vs TBA
4x3 Super-featherweight

Zayn Ahmed vs Kasey Bradnum
4x3 Super-featherweight

Issiah Hamilton-Allen vs Jensen Irving
4x3 Middleweight

Betting Odds

3/10 Dubois
10/3 Wardley
35/1 Draw

9/2 Dubois by decision
14/1 Wardley by decision

4/7 Dubois by KO / TKO / DQ
9/2 Dubois by KO / TKO / DQ

Top Tip: Dubois Round 7-12 @7/4

Prediction

Tim Rickson, GBN Editor: Rematches quite often go the same way as the first fight.

Wardley's punches are so swift they can take an opponent off their feet in an instant, whereas Dubois' clubbing shots take time to wear down their victims. So this could end in an early win for Wardley or a later win for Dubois, which was my same expectations for the first fight.

Wardley swiped Dubois off his feet in the opening 10 seconds, then landed another big right hand in the third, which Dubois tactically took a knee from, clearly learning from his many accumulated knockdowns during his career.

But then he did something he had never done before, he came back stronger from those knockdowns. Yes, he was dropped three times in the first round by cruiserweight Kevin Lerena in 2022 then came back to win in the third, but that was down to a knee injury, so i see it differently.

Dubois finally shed his 'quitter' label and came back to batter Wardley, who really should've been pulled out way before the 11th. He took far too much punishment and was completely sapped of all his strength from as early as the sixth round. He was still firing back though, and had moments of success, but Dubois had worked him out, ironed out the kinks, and just pounded away until the ref had to stop the onslaught.

This is why I believe Dubois wins by KO again in the second half of the contest. He has his number, knows exactly what to do, and will get the job done again, perhaps quicker in rounds 7-9. Wardley has that equaliser and killer instinct. If he wins, it will likely be early in rounds 1-3. If he scores any early knockdowns again, he will certainly be jumping on his success to kill the fight off this time. But as the fight wears on, Wardley is susceptible to cuts and is too brave for his own good. If the fight goes the same way as the first, then I can see him being stopped earlier.