Daniel Dubois survived two early knockdowns before stopping Fabio Wardley in the 11th round to win the WBO world heavyweight title in a dramatic all-British fight at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on Saturday.
Referee Howard Foster ended the contest at the start of the 11th round, with Wardley badly bloodied, his right eye nearly closed and the defending champion no longer able to withstand Dubois’s sustained punishment. The victory made Dubois a two-time world heavyweight champion and handed Wardley the first defeat of his professional career.
Wardley made a stunning start, dropping Dubois with a right hand inside the opening 10 seconds. Dubois later dismissed it as a “flash knockdown,” but he was down again in the third round as Wardley, making his first defence of the WBO title, threatened to overwhelm him early.
Dubois, however, gradually took control behind heavier, cleaner punches. By the sixth round, Wardley was bleeding badly and under severe pressure on the ropes. His corner inspected the damage after the eighth, while the referee and ringside doctor checked him in the ninth and 10th rounds before the fight was finally waved off early in the 11th.
“It was a war. We came through the sticky moments,” Dubois said afterward, thanking Wardley for the battle. The win improved Dubois’s record to 23 victories in 26 professional fights, while Wardley fell to 20 wins, one defeat and one draw.
Wardley, promoted to full WBO champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt, showed enormous courage but absorbed increasingly one-sided punishment as the fight wore on. Some viewers questioned whether the contest should have been stopped earlier, given the extent of his facial damage and his difficulty defending himself late on.
Veteran promoter Frank Warren, who represents both fighters, described the bout as one of the best heavyweight fights he had staged and confirmed that a rematch clause exists in the contract.
For Dubois, the result marks a major career revival after losing the IBF title back to Usyk in July 2025. For Wardley, it was a painful first defeat, but one that reinforced his reputation for resilience and heart.
The bout now reshapes the heavyweight picture, with Dubois back among the division’s major titleholders and a possible rematch already looming.
