Nigerian-born former world heavyweight boxing champion, Daniel Dubois is bound to face a stiff contest against fellow-British rival, Fabio Wardley in their rematch on Saturday night.
Sports247 reports that, though Dubois whipped Wadley in their first bout, he cannot afford to let down his guard against his rival – who labelled himself the underdog, the challenger and the chaser.
Read Also: Daniel Dubois Targets ‘Undisputed Heavyweight Champion’ Status In Contemporary World Of Boxing
Correlatively, Dubois knows he is not in for an easy night versus Wardley, as they knock fists for the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) heavyweight title inside London’s O2 Arena, 163 days after ‘the challenger’ lost his belt to the same man, along with his unbeaten record as a professional.
Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) indists he enters Lpbfon’s roped square as the underdog, which he adopted during his surge from white-collar boxing to the paid ranks, but believes he can pull off an upset against Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs).
This one is expected to be more gruesome than their first clash in May, which turned out to be a very captivating Fight of The Year contender, but not many people inside Manchester’s Co-op Live could predict a rematch before the end of same year.
A rematch with Dubois, who left Wardley’s face bloodied and horribly disfigured back then, seemed improbable, until a suggestion that Wardley could get a chance to reverse the result, amidst memory that those 11 rounds were uncomfortable for viewers.
As anticipation grows ahead of Saturday’s fight, the 31-year-old Wardley, who hails from Ipswich, has gained some odds in his favour, with a +300 status coming his way from bookmakers about the chances of his hand being raised in victory at the end of it all.
A preview added in part, “The only other time in Wardley’s 22-fight professional career he has entered a contest as an underdog was against Joseph Parker last October. The result? The finest victory of his career, as he became world heavyweight champion for the first time.
“Just 173 days later, he lost the crown to ‘Dynamite’ Dubois and, with the odds stacked against him once more, Wardley must find a way to repeat the trick against the very man who took his title — and left him with the scars to prove it.”
Wardley, though, is staying upbeat about his chances and said: “I’ve been proving people wrong for I don’t know how many years now. Seemingly, for me, it’s better when I’m told I’m going to be the underdog and I’m going to lose, that this is a level too far for me.
“I’m the challenger and chaser and honestly for me it all just feels like, ‘This is it, this is the nice bit that I enjoyed for the past however many years on my rise and on my way up.’ It feels great.”
