Fabio Wardley Invokes Rematch Clause With Daniel Dubois

What To Know

• After sustaining a brutal 11th-round TKO loss to Daniel Dubois on May 9, former world champion Fabio Wardley announced Friday he would invoke his rematch clause for a second fight with Dubois.
• The news was confirmed by Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions, who says negotiations will begin for a possible date before the end of 2026.
• Wardley appeared to suffer serious injuries, but only suffered facial injuries, and insists he will correct the mistakes he made in the first fight with Dubois.  

After seemingly sustaining significant damage after savage nonstop action in a TKO loss against Daniel Dubois, no one expected Fabio Wardley to run toward a repeat and invoke his rematch clause so soon.

But just six days later, Wardley of Ipswitch, England (20-1-1, 19 KOs) did just that, announcing on Friday he would insist on an immediate rematch against the new WBO World Heavyweight champion Dubois of London (23-3, 22 KOs) in an effort to get his title back and avenge the first loss on his record.

Wardley got off to a swift start, flooring Dubois twice in the early rounds of their fight in Manchester on Saturday. But in the end, Wardley lost his WBO heavyweight title as a focused and determined Dubois roared back and dished out eight straight rounds of brutal punishment, hurting Wardley and bloodying his face before referee Howard Foster stopped the fight.

Dubois Wardley 2 Negotiations Underway

Queensberry Promotions chief Frank Warren confirmed that Wardley has activated the rematch clause against Dubois, and the parties involved will now work toward setting a date later in 2026.

Queensberry can confirm that Fabio Wardley has activated the rematch clause following his defeat in last week’s WBO world title fight against Daniel Dubois at the Co-op Live in Manchester.

All parties will now work towards a rematch of their fight of the year contender for later… pic.twitter.com/cNJQ2pFIwE

— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) May 15, 2026

After the fight, Warren described Wardley vs Dubois as the best heavyweight fight he had ever put on.

Wardley now vows to deliver another epic battle, telling Sky Sports, “The boxing world knows my character, and Saturday night proved that, without a shred of doubt, it was a fight for the ages, but I made some mistakes that I will rectify in the rematch.

“Congratulations to Daniel, but I’m coming for you and my belt.”

Wardley issued his own message, borrowing a scene from the 1979 film “Rocky II” which every boxing fan knows as Tony “Duke” Evers, Apollo Creed’s trainer, warns him against a rematch. Wardley overlaid replays of his fight with Dubois over the dialogue.

Fabio Wardley Criticized For Running Toward Rematch

Coming for what’s mine 🏆 pic.twitter.com/isbJJ7konS

— Fabio Wardley (@FabioWardley) May 15, 2026

Although Wardley was never knocked down himself, he ended the fight bloodied and bruised. Most observers felt the fight should have been stopped several rounds earlier. Wardley’s trainer, Ben Davison, admitted a few days after the fight that he made a mistake by not stepping in earlier.

Given the punishment suffered by Wardley, it comes as a surprise, and reactions to Wardley’s aggressive pursuit of revenge are mixed.

“I think you should be having a long rest before fighting again mate.”

“You’ll take another beating.”

“I would rather have seen him get a couple of warm up fights first. But Fabio never does things the easy way.”

“Take a year out bro, the heavyweight division will still be here and even more fragmented.”

“Love you Champ. You’ve got the heart. God bless you.”

“You are my favorite fighter and a true warrior, give everything in the rematch! You got this champ.”

However, although Wardley appeared to suffer a broken nose and perhaps a broken orbital bone, neither one happened. Wardley was examined and didn’t require hospital treatment after the fight from the visible facial injuries that he suffered in the bout.

Frazer Clarke Rematch Success May Motivate Fabio Wardley

Wardley’s decision is informed by his success in the rematch of his draw with rival Fraser Clarke. In the first bout, Wardley and Clark went to war in a similar all-action fight for 12 hard rounds at the O2 Arena in March 2024 for Wardley’s British and Commonwealth Titles.

The rematch took place six months later. While everyone expected Round 13, Wardley took down and took out Clarke in a single round, dropping and stopping Clarke in 2:28 seconds.

Wardley, who started boxing at age 20 and had no amateur fights save a handful of so-called white collar fights, has followed a steep learning curve. He may see the Clarke rematch as the template for his rematch with Dubois. But Clarke is nowhere near the experienced, brutal power puncher Wardley faced in Dubois.

Where, When For Dubois Wardley 2?

Now that negotiations begin, there should be no rush to push for a date before New Year’s Eve. Wardley should take at least four to six months off, which would be the norm at the championship level. His training camp timeline should be slow and steady, perhaps three to four months. This places the rematch firmly in the first quarter of 2027.

After the fight, Dubois said, “I want to grow from this fight, improve, and come back and go into the ring a champion again. I love it.” Whether he decides to take a fight in the meantime while waiting on Wardley will rest largely on the rematch negotiations. He won’t want to risk what is sure to become a massive stadium fight.

Wardley vs Dubois: I sold out the Co-op Arena in Manchester and set indoor attendance records with 18,000-plus fans. This fight will not need any promotion, only the announcement of the date and the venue.

It would make sense to shift it to a larger venue. However, the timing and weather may make this challenging. No major boxing event has taken place at a stadium venue before May, or after September. Assuming fans would wait until May, at 62,850 capacity and with experience as a boxing venue, the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium seems an ideal choice.