Daniel Dubois needed less than two rounds to settle his rematch with Fabio Wardley at London's O2 Arena on Saturday, retaining the WBO heavyweight title with a devastating second-round stoppage, Reuters and the BBC report.
The 29-year-old champion floored Wardley with a straight right just 17 seconds into the opening round. Wardley beat the count but took a further pounding on the ropes and was saved by the bell at the end of the first.
There was no reprieve in the second. Dubois picked up where he left off until Wardley's corner threw in the towel and referee Steve Gray stopped the fight at 2:21 of the round. The official result moves Dubois to 24-3 with 23 knockouts; Wardley falls to 20-2-1.
'Fabio is a great warrior, coming in for a second time, but it was my time and my era,' Dubois said. Afterwards, IBF champion Filip Hrgovic entered the ring to face off with Dubois, setting up a possible unification fight — a reversal of their first meeting in Manchester last May, when Dubois came back from two knockdowns to win in the 11th round.
