Daniel Dubois delivers devastating second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley to retain WBO title

Daniel Dubois came out on top in his WBO heavyweight championship bout against Fabio Wardley on Saturday night, delivering a brutal second-round stoppage that reinforced his position as the UK’s premier heavyweight. The victory marked the second time in five months that Dubois has beaten Wardley, though this encounter was far more one-sided than their previous clash, which was a contender for fight of the year back in May.

At the 2:21 mark of the second round, Wardley was saved from Dubois’ relentless assault by the referee, moments after his trainer, Ben Davison, tossed a white towel into the ring in surrender. Davison had nearly stopped the fight at the end of the first round, but the bell rang just as Wardley endured a disastrous opening three minutes. Wardley was floored heavily just 17 seconds into the bout after Dubois connected with a left cross followed by a devastating right hand.