DANIEL DUBOIS believes he can knock Fabio Wardley out of the heavyweight world title race and climb atop the podium to rule for Britannia.
Undisputed Ukraine icon Oleksandr Usyk dropped all the belts after cleaning out the division – twice.
The four major titles are now fragmented with Dubois holding the WBO, Croatian Filip Hrgovic the IBF, Germany’s Agit Kabayel the WBC and Murat Gassiev the WBA for Russia.
Dubois, 28, beat 31-year-old Ipswich hero Wardley in May – in a fight of the year contender.
But an immediate rematch clause means he has to do the double before he can attack the other champions from around the world.
Dynamite Dan climbed off the deck twice to overwhelm the freakishly tough former office worker.
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But he reckons the second shift will be a far easier one before he becomes our first undisputed king since Lennox Lewis.
Dubois said: “I applied relentless pressure in the pursuit of the first win. The plan was to chip away at him and that way we did.
“I need to be sharper off the mark and take him out earlier this time. I come in as champion and I’m going to show the boxing pedigree that I have.
“We had a good war and battle and it’s respect between fighters – but I can’t wait to do it again.
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The Home of Boxing in 2026
There’s a massive year of boxing ahead!
It has already been a blockbuster year inside the ring, and it is not going to stop anytime soon!
All eyes are focused on when Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will get in the ring, with the pair due to finally settle their decade-long rivalry.
Katie Taylor calls time on her illustrious career this weekend at Croke Park as she faces Flora Pili, with the chance to become a three-time undisputed champion.
Conor Benn fights for his first world title one week later against Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas – it is The Destroyer’s second bout for Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing.
October’s action doesn’t stop either, with Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois facing off in the rematch of their thrilling fight in May, while Canelo Alvarez returns against Christian Mbili on Halloween.
Here’s all the big fights coming up…
September
- Sat 5 – Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili – DAZN
- Sat 12 – Conor Benn vs Ryan Garcia – DAZN
- Sep 12 – Jai Opetaia vs Noel Mikaelian
- Sat 19 – Isaac Cruz vs Nestor Bravo – DAZN
October
- Sat 3 – Ben Whittaker vs Conor Wallace – DAZN
- Sat 17 – Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2 – DAZN
- Sat 31 – Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbili – DAZN
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“He can’t change his style, he’ll do the same stuff again and I’ll be ready for it this time from the off. I want to be THE last man standing.
“I want to go down as one of THE greats.”
Wardley took a hellacious beating five months ago and concerned fans and pundits worry the rerun is too soon.
But with a baby girl at home – and another one on the way for December – he has mouths to feed indoors and a few outside he wants to silence.
“I never want to lose but there was lots to be proud of,” he rightly said. “The performance I was proud of but not the loss.
“I let him off the look, I felt comfortable with the early knockdowns, I relaxed and thought it was almost a forgone conclusion
“I hold my hands up and will say I was the victim of my own success. I got trigger happy with the big right hand. I was too laid back and relaxed and comfortable.
“It’s two heavyweights with massive power, we’re both probably going to come away with the odd bump or bruise.
“It was never really that bad, a bit of blood mixed with sweat. A meal was made of it. I’ve had wars in the past and I’ll have them again.”