Dubois Wardley 2: Second-Round Stoppage Keeps Title

The dubois wardley 2 rematch was over almost before it began Saturday night at London’s O2 Arena, where Daniel Dubois battered Fabio Wardley into a second-round stoppage to retain his WBO heavyweight title.

Dubois, 29, floored the challenger inside the opening 20 seconds with a straight right, then kept up a relentless assault for the rest of the round. Wardley survived to the bell, but the punishment continued in the second, and his trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel, with referee Steve Gray halting the fight at 2:21 of round two.

A Storming Start at the O2

Wardley, 31, never recovered from the early knockdown. The champion poured on heavy punches through the first round, leaving the challenger unsteady and nearly finishing the fight before the bell. The 19,000-strong sold-out crowd watched Dubois pick up exactly where he had left off in their first meeting.

The Towel Comes In

Wardley tried to fight back in the second round, swinging for a punch that might turn the bout around, but his balance was gone and Dubois kept finding openings. Another clean right hand started a final barrage that left Davison with no choice but to spare his fighter further punishment. The entire fight lasted under six minutes.

What Comes Next

It was Dubois’s second stoppage of Wardley in five months. Back in May in Manchester, Dubois climbed off the canvas twice to halt Wardley in round eleven and claim the belt. Wardley — promoted to WBO champion last November after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title — has now lost two fights in a row for the first time in his career.

Dubois improved to 24-3 with 23 knockouts, while Wardley fell to 20-2-1. After the fight, Dubois declared: “It was my time and my era. I had bad intentions from the beginning.” Wardley was gracious in defeat: “It’s never fun to lose… there’s no shame in testing yourself against the best. I’ll come again.”

Source: Reuters