Dubois vs Wardley 2: WBO rematch returns to London on Saturday
Daniel Dubois will defend his WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley in a rematch at London's O2 Arena on Saturday.
The second meeting is scheduled for 17 October, with ringwalks expected after 22:30 BST, according to BBC Sport. It is set for 12 three-minute rounds. The show is billed as Dubois vs Wardley 2.
They have been here before, and it was wild. Wardley dropped Dubois twice in their first fight at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena in May before Dubois rallied to win by 11th-round stoppage, when the referee steps in to end the contest. That defeat was the first of Wardley's professional career, and he then triggered his rematch clause, the contractual right to an immediate second fight.
This is the first defence of Dubois's second reign as a world champion. He previously held the IBF title, one of boxing's four major heavyweight belts, before losing his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in July 2025. Wardley's route was different. He was elevated from interim champion, essentially a stand-in title-holder, to full WBO champion, then lost the belt to Dubois in his first defence.
The heavyweight picture is split right now. Dubois holds the WBO belt, while Agit Kabayel holds the WBC, Filip Hrgovic holds the IBF and Murat Gassiev holds the WBA.
Both men bring serious punch power. Dubois has 23 wins from 26 fights, with 22 knockouts. Wardley's record stands at 20 wins, one defeat and one draw, with 19 knockouts. Both are British, and both have built their reputations on finishing fights early.
What makes this stand out is how close the first fight came to going the other way. Wardley had Dubois down twice and could not keep him there. Dubois had to survive trouble to take the belts back.
For fans, this means a simple question on Saturday: can Wardley repeat the early success without fading late, and can Dubois stay upright this time? No favouritism needed. The styles already delivered once.
If you are watching from home, the fight will be streamed live on DAZN, which lists the card on DAZN Pay-Per-View and DAZN Ultimate Tier, according to DAZN. BBC Sport will begin live text commentary on its website and app at 21:00 BST. Radio commentary starts at 21:00 on 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, with BBC Radio 5 Live joining for the main event at 22:00, plus a live watch-along on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app, and BBC Sport YouTube and TikTok just before the main event.
