FABIO WARDLEY took round after round of brutal punishment against Daniel Dubois.
The Ipswich puncher’s bashed-in face was proof enough of the beating Dubois dished out before referee Howard Foster stopped it in the 11th round, crowning ‘Dynamite’ Daniel the WBO world heavyweight champion.
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Fabio Wardley soaked up 179 punches from Daniel Dubois Credit: AP
Wardley’s face was a bloody mess but he did not go down during the fight Credit: AP
And the punch stats reveal just how gruelling it got for the beaten belt-holder.
Wardley had the better of round one, when he knocked Dubois down inside 10 seconds, threw and landed more punches, and landed a higher percentage of his blows.
But from then on it was one-way traffic from DDD.
In every round from the second to the 11th, Dubois landed more punches than Wardley.
DAN THE MAN
Dubois BEATS Wardley to win heavyweight title in breathtaking fight of year
SWIFTY
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And in round 8, the only round in which Wardley landed a greater percentage of his shots than Dubois, he still connected with fewer of them overall by 11 to 15.
Overall, Dubois landed a staggering 179 punches – 46 per cent of the 391 he threw.
That is nearly TWICE as many as the 97 Wardley landed, which was 27 per cent of his 358 shots.
Wardley started strong with two knockdowns but his game plan slowly unravelled as Dubois began to find his range.
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Dubois stopped Wardley to become a two-time world champion Credit: AP
The Home of Boxing in 2026
There’s a massive year of boxing ahead!
It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action inside the boxing ring.
Oleksandr Usyk takes on the king of kickboxing Rico Verhoeven and Fabio Wardley will defend his newly won heavyweight crown against fellow Brit Daniel Dubois.
Anthony Joshua returns to the ring in July to face Kristian Prenga ahead of a potential blockbuster bout against Tyson Fury later in the year.
Canelo Alvarez will be hoping to make a comeback after his defeat to Terence Crawford, while Dave Allen will also be looking to get back to winning ways against Filip Hrgovic.
A whole bunch of British stars could also take a leap into superstardom, with the likes of Moses Itauma, Hamzah Sheeraz and Adam Azim ready to join the very top of the sport.
Here’s all the big fights coming up…
May
Sat 9 – Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois – WBO title – DAZN PPV
Sat 16 – Dave Allen vs Filip Hrgovic – DAZN
Sat 23 – Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven – WBC title – DAZN
June
Sat 6 – Fame Fighting v Misfits Boxing – The Jattvibe
Sat 6 – Dalton Smith vs Alberto Puello – WBC super lightweight title – DAZN
Sat 13 – Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall – DAZN
Sat 20 – Ryan Garner vs Michael Magnesi – DAZN
Sat 27 – Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis – DAZN
July
Sat 25 – Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga – DAZN
*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue.
Wardley’s face was transformed into a bloody mess – his right eye swollen shut and blood pouring from a gash on his nose.
Even the ringside commentators’ notes were spattered with blood as Wardley was knocked from pillar to post.
Although the first professional defeat of Wardley’s career will have been painful in more ways than one, his hard-as-nails reputation suffered no damage whatsoever.
Dozens of thunderous Dubois shots failed to put him on the canvas, with DAZN pundit Darren Barker saying that Wardley’s chin “deserves a knighthood“.
