With Daniel Dubois officially set to rematch Fabio Wardley on October 17 at the O2 Arena in London, the pair made their official announcement of the fight at this opening press conference. Wardley came up short in an epic fight where he really took a beating, and while some questioned whether coming straight back for seconds so quickly was a good idea, Wardley didn’t hesitate even a moment to activate his contractual rematch clause. And so here we are! Check out some of what both fighters had to say
below.
Dubois on overcoming a rough start to rally and win the world title against Wardley the first time around
“Mission accomplished. Knocked off some cobwebs, really. I was coming off a defeat last time so I was a bit nervous and stuff. And just a fresh start for me now. I feel even better. Smooth training camp this time and I’ll be ready for war.
“We chipped away at him. That was really the game plan last time, just chip away and we got the victory in the end, got what we came for.”
Dubois on believing he’ll make quicker work of Wardley this time
“Yeah, I’m going to come in just as champion and just demonstrate my skill and my pedigree and what I have.”
Wardley’s thoughts on the first fight
“Taking a loss is never fun, it’s never the objective, is never what I want. But there was a lot to look at that performance to be be proud of, to go home with, reflect on. So the performance in and of itself, I was proud of. But obviously the loss as a whole, no. There’s some things we need to adjust and change and sort out and that’s what we’ve been doing in this camp.”
Wardley on why he didn’t press to stop Dubois when he had him hurt early
“I think I lost a bit of — not to say the old me. I felt like, in a way, I felt a bit comfortable. I felt a bit too comfortable, maybe. With a really early knockdown, then followed by another one in the third I kind of really relaxed into the fight. I thought this was a near foregone conclusion. I thought I done it once, I done it twice, I can get him out of there.
“I’ll be honest and say I was a victim of my own success in the early stages and I just got trigger happy, got carried away with trying to launch that right hand and trying to get that to land and just trying to get the fight finished up. And in them moments when I did have him hurt I don’t think I jumped on him enough.”
Wardley on whether he’s too brave for his own good by taking this rematch immediately
“I have absolutely zero excuses for the loss on the night and I have absolutely zero excuses going into the rematch. I triggered the rematch clause as soon as I could and I was ready to go as soon as we could find a venue and put everything together again. I think a lot has been made of the aesthetic of how it looked. And, yeah, ultimately on the face of it, it’s a boxing match between two big heavyweights. You’re probably going to come out with a bruise or a cut or two.
“I think a bit of a meal was made of it, really. Like, I’ve gone through wars like that in the past and then had rematches shortly after. So, it’s nothing new to me, it’s nothing new to the team around me, and the people that know me well, know me close, and know me personally.”
