Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley weigh in for heavyweight title rematch
Five months after their brutal 11th-round classic, Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley weighed in at career-heaviest numbers ahead of their WBO heavyweight title rematch at London's O2 Arena.
- Headline: Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley weigh in for heavyweight title rematch
- Dispatch Summary: Five months after their brutal 11th-round classic, Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley weighed in at career-heaviest numbers ahead of their WBO heavyweight title rematch at London's O2 Arena.
- Verification: Corroborated across independent reporting outlets with primary sources and real-time wire transmissions.
Only five months after producing a brutal, unforgettable 11th-round stoppage at Co-op Live in Manchester, Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley step back into the ring on Saturday afternoon at London’s O2 Arena. At the final pre-fight weigh-in at Spitalfields Market in the heart of the City of London, both heavyweights registered career-heaviest numbers, with Dubois scaling 253.9lbs and Wardley coming in at 248.3lbs.
That physical growth signals an absolute collision for the WBO world heavyweight title, building directly on their first encounter in May. In that bout, Dubois showed extraordinary powers of recovery to lift himself off the canvas twice—the first time after only 10 seconds—before referee Howard Foster intervened in the 11th round as a bruised and battered Wardley continued taking heavy punches. That victory began Dubois's second reign as a world heavyweight champion, claiming the belt Wardley had held since being upgraded following Oleksandr Usyk's decision to relinquish it in November 2025. Wardley immediately activated his rematch clause, pushing for a second shot at the division's elite.
Heavy Punches and Heavy Scales
The scale readings on Friday exceeded both fighters' previous marks from their first meeting, where Dubois weighed 251.7lbs and Wardley was 242.2lbs. Promoter Frank Warren told Sky Sports that That's the thing about these two guys, so much self-belief the pair of them, they both think they've got each other's number,
adding that And the one thing they can do, they can both punch and that's why this fight is going to be so exciting. It's definitely not going to go the distance.
The stakes extend far beyond national pride and the WBO strap. With 41 knockouts between them across 43 combined victories, the winner positions themselves for massive unification bouts in a fragmented heavyweight division. Wardley noted to Sky Sports that The landscape of heavyweight boxing is very different from when we had the first fight,
pointing to potential future clashes against the winner of Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua, WBC titlist Agit Kabayel, or IBF champion Filip Hrgovic, whose trainer Abel Sanchez will be watching closely.
Trainer Don Charles emphasized that his team is taking nothing for granted despite Dubois's victory in May. We've prepared for a better version of Fabio,
Charles told Sky Sports. We have to anticipate for that. Because if you don't, that would be complacent of us and we don't have any complacency.
Inside the Rematch Strategy
Pundits and fighters across the sport are deeply divided on whether Wardley can make the necessary tactical adjustments after being drawn into a firefight last time. Some analysts point out that Wardley's early success in landing a major shot in the opening minute of the first fight actually worked against him, locking him into a predictable rhythm that Dubois learned to anticipate while hurt.
Dubois enters the ring wrapped in new-found confidence, but challenger Wardley insists he is fully prepared to revisit the trenches.
Wardley said.Knowing it's going to be a hard, hard fight is what gees me up, what keeps me going,
Fabio Wardley via Sky Sports
It was well and truly something I came to terms with the second I pressed the button on the rematch clause. We're probably going back into the same kind of depths.
The main event is expected to begin around 5:30 p.m. on DAZN, with ring walks scheduled for approximately 10:30 p.m. BST, following a stacked undercard at the sold-out O2 Arena featuring Louie O'Doherty defending his British and Commonwealth lightweight titles against Michael Gomez Jnr, and Solomon Dacres facing Bakhodir Jalolov.
