Daniel Dubois looks to put an end to Fabio Wardley’s reign and become a two-time world heavyweight champion on Saturday, and now former cruiserweight ruler Tony Bellew has shared his thoughts on the fight.
Dubois is the former IBF heavyweight champion who holds wins over Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, and Jarrell Miller. Still, he is looking to bounce back from a defeat to the division’s elite, Oleksandr Usyk, last July.
As for Wardley, he is seeking to prove that he belongs in that elite category, despite holding the WBO heavyweight world title ahead of this voluntary defence.
Wins over Justis Huni and Joseph Parker are Wardley’s only two successes at the world level, and the 31-year-old secured both of them whilst behind on the cards. However, Wardley’s heart and character make him such a formidable fighter and so difficult to overcome.
Speaking to talkSPORT Boxing, Bellew explained why he makes Wardley a slight favourite against Dubois, despite the latter’s superior experience.
“Fabio has been absolutely amazing. A couple of times I have thought that he was going to get beat and he has shown me up and come really good. The thing with Fabio is, he has more strings to his bow than Daniel does, so he has more ways that he can win.
“The biggest factor for me is that he has shown he can get off the floor, ride out the really tough moments in fights and win fights that, if I am being totally honest, he doesn’t deserve to win.
“He was losing every round against Justis Huni and he was losing against Joseph Parker. But, you see that ‘O’ that he has and that undefeated thing that he has got going – it stands him in such good stead and it gives him such confidence because you have to nail Fabio Wardley to the floor to beat him.
“He is not going to give him, no matter if everyone is against him, he has got this ‘me against the world’ attitude and you will see on Saturday night that you will have to really nail him to the floor to beat him.
“I am not saying that it is impossible, but I make Fabio a slight favourite.”
All will be revealed when Wardley vs Dubois takes place this Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.