Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois collide in one of the most intriguing heavyweight scraps of the year, with the WBO heavyweight world title on the line. Ahead of the fight, British boxing icon ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed has offered his prediction, where he anticipates a statement performance.
Dubois held the IBF heavyweight world title for over a year, having been upgraded to full world champion after halting Filip Hrgovic and then defending his status in an authoritative beatdown of Anthony Joshua in September 2024.
Although, his reign was brought to an end when he rematched Oleksandr Usyk in a challenge for the undisputed crown, suffering a second stoppage defeat to the dominant Ukrainian ruler.
Meanwhile, Wardley was elevated to WBO champion late last year after knocking out Joseph Parker, with Usyk opting to vacate the belt rather than face the Ipswich fan-favourite – for now at least.
Wardley has signed for a difficult first assignment as champion in this dust-up with Dubois and Hamed told talkSPORT Boxing that he believes that he has bitten off more than he can chew, predicting that Dubois may produce the ‘fight of his life’.
“I think that this fight is going to show us and answer every question that you want. I think that you are going to see Daniel Dubois probably fight the fight of his life.
“I just think that you need to understand something, Daniel Dubois has got very heavy hands and he hits to the body very well, just a little bit like [Agit] Kabayel hits very well to the body as a heavyweight.
“So, I think that, if he boxes the way that he can fight, I think that he is going to make it very, very hard for Fabio. I just think that you are going to see the skillset of both of them and they are not going to match up.”
Wardley-Dubois takes place at the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester on Saturday, May 9, with fight fans currently split when determining who will come out on top.
