{"id":131934,"date":"2026-02-13T13:59:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T19:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=131934"},"modified":"2026-02-13T13:59:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T19:59:22","slug":"fabio-wardley-defends-his-wbo-heavyweight-title-against-daniel-dubois-on-may-9th-in-manchester-england-breaking-boxing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=131934","title":{"rendered":"Fabio Wardley Defends His WBO Heavyweight Title Against Daniel Dubois On May 9th in Manchester England &#8211; Breaking Boxing News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=131934\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=131934\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-131935 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wardley-300x157.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wardley-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wardley.jpg 310w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fabio Wardley will make the first defense of his WBO World Heavyweight Championship in a blockbuster all-British showdown against former IBF World Champion Daniel Dubois at Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday, May 9 live worldwide on DAZN.<\/p>\n<p>In \u2018Don\u2019t Blink\u2019, two of the most destructive punchers in the heavyweight division collide in what promises to be a seismic night for British boxing. Between them, Wardley and Dubois boast a combined knockout percentage of over 90%, with just one bout apiece on their professional records going the distance.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Wardley\u2019s WBO title was upgraded from interim status following his dramatic October stoppage of Joseph Parker, and now the Ipswich power-puncher faces his most accomplished test yet \u2014 a man who challenged for the undisputed heavyweight championship in his most recent outing against Oleksandr Usyk last July.<\/p>\n<p>For Dubois, this represents a shot at becoming a two-time heavyweight world champion. The 28-year-old Londoner is no stranger to high-pressure domestic blockbusters, having demolished Anthony Joshua in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium in September 2024 to claim IBF world honours.<\/p>\n<p>British heavyweight history has been shaped by nights like this \u2014 from Tyson Fury defending against Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora, to David Haye versus Audley Harrison, and the original \u201cBattle of Britain\u201d in 1993 when Lennox Lewis stopped Frank Bruno to retain the WBC crown. On May 9, a new chapter will be written.<\/p>\n<p>Frank Warren, Founder and Chairman of Queensberry: \u201cThis is another piece of British heavyweight history being made.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is quite simply the most exciting and explosive fight available for Fabio\u2019s first defense of his WBO world title, and it tells you everything about him that this is the fight he demanded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFabio\u2019s journey has been extraordinary and inspiring. Time and again he is written off, and time and again he proves people wrong. He keeps stepping up, keeps taking on bigger challenges, and keeps delivering, often against the odds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor Daniel to be attempting to become a two-time world champion at just 28 is equally remarkable. This will be his sixth world title fight, and across that run only Oleksandr Usyk has been able to defeat him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cManchester is in for an incredible night, and British boxing will be on full display.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alfie Sharman, VP Marketing for DAZN: \u201cThis is one of the biggest fights that can be made globally in boxing, between two of the best fighters that Britain has to offer. And it is all live and exclusive worldwide, only on DAZN.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fabio Wardley: \u201cI\u2019ve never been in this game to play around \u2014 I\u2019m committed to big fights only. I\u2019m the champion, this is a voluntary defense, and I chose this. I\u2019m not about to win a world title and then take easy fights or hide away with it \u2014 I\u2019m not running off with my belt. One thing you can\u2019t ever say about me is I\u2019ve shied away from a challenge. I\u2019ve always gone looking for the biggest tests, and I\u2019d back myself against anyone in this division.<\/p>\n<p>This is one of the biggest fights that can be made in the heavyweight division right now \u2014 and the best part is, it doesn\u2019t need the extra stuff\u2026 this fight sells itself. With me, you know what you\u2019re getting \u2014 drama and entertainment \u2014 and when that first bell goes, it\u2019s going to be fireworks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Dubois: \u201cOn the 9th May the world title reign is over for Fabio, and I will become champion again. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This fight is available on DAZN PPV. Sign up and join DAZN Ultimate and get a minimum of 12 PPVs a year, including this fight and The Ring: Barrios vs. Garcia at no extra cost.<\/p>\n<p>FIGHTER PROFILES<\/p>\n<p>Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) rose to prominence with his British title victory over David Adeleye in October 2023 before twice facing British Olympian Frazer Clarke \u2014 battling to a draw before producing a devastating first-round knockout in their rematch.<\/p>\n<p>Wardley then captured the WBA Interim World title with a dramatic 10th-round stoppage of Justis Huni at Portman Road, Ipswich, despite trailing on the scorecards. His ascent continued with an 11th-round stoppage of Joseph Parker, earning him WBO Interim status that was later elevated to full world championship honors when Usyk declined to defend the belt.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) claimed the WBA \u201cregular\u201d world title with a knockout of Trevor Bryan in 2022 and defended it against Kevin Lerena before challenging Oleksandr Usyk in Poland in August 2023.<\/p>\n<p>He rebounded emphatically with victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua, with the Hrgovic win earning IBF Interim status that was later upgraded before his crushing Wembley triumph over Joshua. Most recently, Dubois again challenged Usyk for undisputed honors at Wembley, where the Ukrainian handed him the second defeat of his career.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Welcome To The &quot;Bad&quot; Brad Berkwitt Show\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SzrDjx_cmIU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F131934\" data-token=\"bd8b8b7522c4aa15fc41b39b8fb25918\" data-token-time=\"1776283206\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\"><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div>\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Email or Name<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; 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In \u2018Don\u2019t Blink\u2019, two of the most destructive punchers in the heavyweight division collide in what promises [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131935,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[34071],"class_list":["post-131934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-fabio-wardley-defends-his-wbo-heavyweight-title-against-daniel-dubois-on-may-9th-in-manchester-england-breaking-boxing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=131934"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/131935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=131934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=131934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=131934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}