Wardley points to inconsistency under pressure ahead of WBO heavyweight clash

Fabio Wardley says Daniel Dubois’ performances can change under pressure ahead of their May 9 title fight. The WBO heavyweight bout takes place in Manchester.

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During the DAZN Face Off special, Wardley gave a sharp assessment of Dubois’ uneven track record in difficult fights. He accepted that Dubois has power, pedigree, and quality wins, but said there have also been nights when adversity changed his body language and output.

“I think in some fights he’s shown that he’s shied away from the challenge in some situations, yeah. But in others, it’s always about the roundabout with him,” said Wardley about Dubois. “Sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get because in other fights he has proven, bit down, like Hrgovic for example, and got stuck into that where it was back and forth.”

Wardley’s reading was clear. Dubois is dangerous when he is confident, punching freely and fighting on the front foot. Once the fight becomes hard and uncomfortable, doubts can begin to appear.

Fabio knew exactly which buttons to press. By calling Dubois a “frontrunner,” he is basically telling him, “I know you’re only dangerous when you’re winning.” He pointed to victories over Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller as proof that Dubois can dig deep and win meaningful fights.

Wardley suggested there is another side to Dubois that can surface when an opponent keeps coming and refuses to break. In his view, the issue is not skill but how Dubois responds when control slips away.

Dubois isn’t coming into this fight under the best conditions, considering he was knocked out in his previous fight by unified champion Oleksander Usyk. The bout is more about business. If Dubois had to earn the title shot, it would take too long, and who knows what the outcome would be.