Wardley Activates Re-Match Clause with Dubois

Fabio Wardley intends to do a rematch against Daniel Dubois (Instagram/@fabiowardley).

JAKARTA - Fabio Wardley has activated a clause for an immediate rematch with World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

Dubois managed to get through two knockdowns early in the match to knock out his compatriot with a knockout (KO) victory in the 11th round in Manchester, England, at the weekend.

After the match, Wardley immediately said that he had activated the clause for a rematch so that he had the opportunity to avenge his defeat.

"The boxing world knows my character and on Saturday night I proved it without a doubt," said Wardley, quoted by BBC Sport.

The rematch was also confirmed directly by Frank Warren, founder of Queensberry Promotions, which oversees the two boxers.

The result against Dubois was Wardley's first defeat in a total of 22 matches at the professional level. Before that, he had 20 wins (19 KO) and one draw.

"It was an amazing fight, but I made some mistakes that I will fix in the rematch. I will come to reclaim my belt," said Wardley.

Wardley, who is 31, actually performed well in the early rounds against Dubois. However, his nose suffered a severe injury and his eyes were swollen when the referee intervened to stop the fight.

On the other hand, the victory over Wardley marked Dubois' return to the top of the most prestigious boxing division. The 28-year-old boxer previously held the IBF belt, but lost the title when fighting Oleksandr Usyk in July 2025.

Dubois has won 23 of his 26 fights as a professional boxer. He has recorded two defeats against Usyk and one time when he met Joe Joyce.