Daniel Dubois is set to face WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley on May 9 at the Co-Op Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom, as two of Britain’s two biggest punchers collide.
This will be Wardley’s first defense of his belt, having claimed the interim title by defeating Joseph Parker via TKO in October last year, and since being upgraded to full WBO champion due to Oleksander Usyk vacating his belts.
Dubois, not one for the limelight, let his fists do the talking at Wednesday’s press conference. The former WBA heavyweight champion kept his fists to himself as Wardley attempted a fist bump with Dubois after an intense face-off.
Wardley slanders Dubois’ fighting spirit
After a long back and forth between both managers, the WBO champion threw the first blow at the press conference, slating Dubois’ grit and determination when it gets ‘dicey’ in the fight, something that has been thrown at Dynamite throughout his career.
“My power is proven. If there’s time left on the clock, I’m taking you out of the fight. If you look back, when it gets dicey, he’s not up for it,” he added.
Dubois is coming off the back of a heavy defeat to Olexander Usyk in May of last year. Knocked down in the fifth round for the second time in the fight, the Brit failed to make the count.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois | IMAGO / NurPhoto
When Dubois finally decided to rebut, he kept it short and sweet, stating he will win by any means necessary.
Wardley admits defeat to Dubois in sparring
In an interview with Seconds Out after the press conference, Wardley admitted Dubois ‘got the better of him’ when they sparred early on in Wardley’s professional boxing career.
Whilst admitting to defeat against Dubois, Wardley brushed off any significance it could have on the fight on May 9
“I’m not going to take stock in something that happened over six years ago when I’d laced up a pair of gloves for a total of maybe three years, when Daniel has been boxing since he was 10 years old. I’m not going to make them two comparisons. Wardley expressed.
“If anything, it shows how much I’ve came on in that short space of time versus him [Dubois]”.
The 31-year-old has a total of 19 stoppages in his last 20 fights, earning the name ‘War’ and dismantling every opponent that has come in his way. Dubois is also known to not hold his punches, so a war is most likely what we can expect come May 9.