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“I was in there with a live dog and I loved it,” Daniel Dubois said in the early hours of Sunday morning as, looking suitably gladiatorial without a shirt, the new WBO world heavyweight champion reflected on the monumental battle he had just shared with the valiant Fabio Wardley in Manchester. “He came to win and it was a real crowd-pleaser. We had a great fight.”
At ringside it had been a sobering privilege to see the courage and resolve of both men in a contest that captured the glory and the damage of boxing in equal measure. Dubois rose from the canvas twice, with the first knockdown coming a mere 10 seconds after the opening bell, but Wardley endured a sustained form of punishment which became increasingly worrying. He was a stricken and weaving figure at the end, refusing to succumb until the referee, Howard Foster, finally rescued him early in the 11th round.
Wardley is not a skilful fighter and he swung and missed wildly on many occasions. But he carries real power and he forced Dubois to join him in showing an iron will from the outset. Before the fourth round, and having been on the canvas for a second time, Dubois was slapped lightly across the face by his trainer, Don Charles. “I needed that slap just to wake up, to stay in reality,” Dubois said. “You can’t slip back. As a warrior you have to dig deep, go to that dark place and come out on top. I wasn’t going to be denied. I had my dad and my people in my corner and I wasn’t going to let them down.”
Dubois described Wardley as “a tough cookie” after the former champion did not go down even once despite his face being masked with blood as he shipped one heavy blow after another. “He took my shots,” Dubois said as he thanked and praised Wardley repeatedly. “He pestered me in that fight. I had to go through my inner battle, coming off the back of a loss. I was a bit nervy, a bit all over the place at the start. But I pulled it together and got the victory.”
Dubois won new respect. Last summer he lost for the third time when he was outclassed and beaten up by the great Oleksandr Usyk in a world-title unification showdown. Another defeat in his comeback bout would have been disastrous but, rather than ease himself back into competitive action, Dubois took the bold decision to challenge the previously unbeaten Wardley.
The now fallen champion is a destructive puncher but, boxing with bludgeoning authority, Dubois dominated the rest of the bout. During his uneven career, the 28-year-old has been accused of being a quitter and too timid in and outside the ring for a man carrying such considerable force in his fists. But he had also shown courage coming back from a badly fractured eye socket, which he sustained amid his first loss against Joe Joyce in 2020, when he was ridiculed for being unable to keep fighting. He was also accused of giving up in the first of two losses against Usyk.
As his trainer, Charles was as proud as he was emphatic on Sunday morning: “No human being on the planet could ever question this kid again. Certainly don’t question him in front of me because what he showed tonight erased any doubt. I’m almost glad the fight went that way, so Daniel could demonstrate this written narrative is not [accurate]. We know he’s not [a quitter]. The fight had everything, and so much drama, for the neutrals. That’s what they paid for. Luckily, the two gladiators came out intact. That’s the most important thing.”
Wardley is immensely tough but the referee, or his own corner, could have rescued him a round earlier. Such intensely destructive fights take their toll on the bravest boxers and there must be a doubt that the 31-year-old will ever be the same again between the ropes. “It was just a war,” Dubois said. “We both gave each other everything we had but I had to overcome it. It was a test from God and I had to come through it.”
Frank Warren, who promotes both heavyweights, sounded sincerely reverential. “I think this is my 48th year in the business and for me it was humbling to watch these two guys. It was amazing. Boxing, hey? I keep telling you, it’s flying.” The 74-year-old leaned forward to accentuate his point. “Look at the end. What sport is like boxing?
“They just knock the granny out of each other, and then they’re putting their arms around each other. How many sports are like that? I can’t think of one. It’s a unique sport, boxing, with unique people.”
It had been an incredible fight and a strangely uplifting night for boxing, but the scale of all Dubois and Wardley had endured together suddenly seemed to hit the victor. When he was asked the age-old question regarding who he would like to fight next, Dubois was as brief as he was truthful. Quietly, he said: “I need a nice rest.”
