LONDON: Fabio Wardley says he feels great heading into the Wardley Dubois rematch on Saturday, a heavyweight contest with Daniel Dubois at The O2 Arena, brushing aside questions about whether he has had enough rest after their brutal first meeting in May.
Wardley, who made the rematch call himself just days after losing his WBO title, appeared on The Boxing Show to address the concerns surrounding his quick return to the ring.
Wardley made the call within days
The British heavyweight revealed he rang to request the rematch while he was still recovering from the damage of the first fight.
"By the time my other eye opened and I could see all the buttons I was looking at the phone to make sure I was dialling the right number. I made the call," Wardley said. He told the show the rematch was agreed "within two or three days" of the first bout.
That first fight, in May, was one of the heaviest heavyweight contests of recent years. Wardley was defending his WBO title for the first time and looked on course for a famous night when he dropped Dubois just ten seconds into the contest and then put him down again in the third round.
Dubois survived both knockdowns. The Londoner then took control in the second half of the fight, breaking Wardley down before stopping a battered and bloodied champion in the 11th round to claim the WBO crown.
Rest questions dismissed
Given the punishment he took, Wardley has faced questions about whether five months is too short a turnaround. He was dismissive of the idea that he needs a longer break.
"How much rest then? How much rest is sufficient to appease the public? Is it six months, is it nine months, am I supposed to have a year out of my career? Opportunities are in front of me and I know how I feel going into it, and I feel great," he said.
His comments suggest he sees no value in waiting. For Wardley, the rematch is an opportunity that might not come around again, and he is prepared to gamble on his own recovery rather than sit out the rest of the year.
Wardley Dubois rematch: the stakes on Saturday
The WBO heavyweight title is on the line once more. Dubois returns to The O2 as champion, but Wardley has already shown he has the power to hurt him, having floored the champion twice in their first meeting.
The key question is whether Wardley can finish the job this time. In May, the early knockdowns cost Dubois but also seemed to wake him up. Once Dubois survived the storm, his superior size and combinations wore Wardley down over the championship rounds.
Dubois, for his part, will be wary of another fast start. Being dropped inside ten seconds was a warning he is unlikely to forget, and his camp will have worked on tightening the defence that left him exposed in the opening exchanges.
If Wardley can manage his energy across twelve rounds and avoid the kind of sustained damage he absorbed in the first fight, Saturday could be a very different contest. Boxing rarely gives a fighter the chance to rewrite a defeat quite so quickly. Wardley has seized his, and the O2 crowd will expect another heavyweight war. Elsewhere in the division, Anthony Joshua says he is closer to his prime than Tyson Fury ahead of their own December 11 fight.
When is the Wardley vs Dubois rematch?
The rematch takes place on Saturday, October 17, at The O2 Arena in London, with the WBO heavyweight title at stake.
What happened in the first fight?
Dubois survived two early knockdowns, in the opening seconds and the third round, to stop a battered Wardley in the 11th round and win the WBO title in May.
What has Wardley said about his health?
Wardley told The Boxing Show he "feels great" and dismissed questions about whether five months is enough rest, asking if critics expected him to take six months, nine months or a full year away from his career.
