Dubois stops Wardley in 11th round to take WBO heavyweight boxing title

Monday, 11 May 2026 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Daniel Dubois

Daniel Dubois came back from two knockdowns to deal Fabio Wardley a brutal and bloody first defeat as a professional and take the World Boxing Organisation’s (WBO) World Heavyweight title in a thunderous all-British clash in Manchester, UK.

Referee Howard Foster finally stepped in at the start of the 11th round to signal the end of the fight at the Co-Op Live Arena on Saturday. Wardley was bleeding heavily from the bridge of the nose, with his right eye almost closed.

Dubois rose twice from the canvas, including being dropped by a right hook in the first 10 seconds of the fight, to pulverise Wardley and become a World Heavyweight champion for the second time in his career.

“It was a war. We came through the sticky moments. Thank you, Fabio, for that,” ‌said Dubois, who was previously International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion after the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, with the Ukrainian winning it back in July 2025. “What a great fight. What a great battle, man.”

The win was Dubois’s 23rd as a professional in 26 fights, while Wardley now has a 20-1-1 record.