Fabio Wardley is set to defend his WBO heavyweight title against knockout artist Daniel Dubois on May 9 at the Co-op Arena in Manchester.
Wardley vs Dubois is one of the most anticipated British heavyweight fights of the year. With both men carrying serious knockout power, many expect an explosive contest once they step into the ring.
Ahead of the showdown, Tony Bellew has shared his prediction for the heavyweight clash, slightly leaning toward the unbeaten WBO heavyweight champion.
Despite Dubois’ experience at the world level, Bellew believes Wardley’s resilience and mentality could prove decisive.
Bellew praises Wardley’s mentality
In his recent appearance on ‘talkSport Boxing, Bellew admitted that Wardley has repeatedly proven him wrong.
“Fabio has been absolutely amazing,” Bellew said.
The former cruiserweight world champion explained that he doubted Wardley several times in the past, only to watch him survive difficult moments and come back stronger.
“A couple of times I have thought that he was going to get beat and he has shown me up and come really good.”
Bellew also believes the WBO heavyweight champion possesses more versatility compared to Dubois.
“The thing with Fabio is, he has more strings to his bow than Daniel does, so he has more ways that he can win.”
Bellew highlights Wardley’s comeback ability
Bellew pointed to Wardley’s fights against Justis Huni and Joseph Parker as examples of his ability to survive adversity and still emerge victorious.
“He has shown he can get off the floor, ride out the really tough moments in fights,” Bellew explained.
The former cruiserweight world champion even admitted that Wardley managed to win fights where he appeared to be behind on the scorecards.
“He was losing every round against Justis Huni and he was losing against Joseph Parker,” Bellew said.
However, Bellew believes Wardley’s unbeaten record gives him enormous confidence in dangerous moments.
“That undefeated thing that he has got going, it stands him in such good stead,” he added.
Bellew says Dubois must ‘nail’ Wardley to win
Bellew emphasized that Wardley’s mentality makes him extremely difficult to break mentally or physically.
“You have to nail Fabio Wardley to the floor to beat him,” he said.
According to Bellew, Wardley thrives when doubted and embraces pressure situations.
“He has got this ‘me against the world’ attitude,” Bellew explained.
The British boxing analyst warned that Dubois will need to fully finish Wardley if he wants victory.
“You will have to really nail him to the floor to beat him.”
Although Bellew acknowledged Dubois absolutely has the ability to win, he still slightly favors Wardley heading into the matchup.
“I am not saying that it is impossible, but I make Fabio a slight favourite.”
Ahead of the fight, things between Wardley and Dubois grew bitter during the pre-fight press conference, and both fighters have vowed to knock each other out.
During the official weigh-in, the former IBF heavyweight champion came in at 251.7 pounds, while the unbeaten WBO heavyweight champion Wardley weighed 242.2 pounds. Despite the differences, both heavyweights appeared confident ahead of the showdown, and their final face-off added even more intensity to the matchup.
