Wardley vs. Dubois ranks among greatest all-British heavyweight title fights

Fabio Wardley's first WBO world heavyweight title defense against Daniel Dubois sits among a storied lineage of all-British championship fights that spans three decades, according to an ESPN retrospective published this week.

Wardley, elevated from interim champion when Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the belt, brings a 20-0-1 record with 19 knockouts into the bout. The 31-year-old from Ipswich faces Dubois, who claimed the IBF strap in 2024 after Usyk vacated that title as well. Dubois owns a 22-3 mark with 21 stoppages and memorably dethroned Anthony Joshua last September in front of 96,000 at Wembley Stadium, dropping AJ four times before finishing him in the fifth round.

Where Wardley-Dubois fits in British heavyweight history

ESPN's Nick Parkinson positioned the matchup alongside several landmark domestic clashes, including Tyson Fury's sixth-round stoppage of Dillian Whyte before 94,000 fans at Wembley in 2022 and Lennox Lewis's seventh-round finish of Frank Bruno in Cardiff in 1993, widely regarded as the first all-British world heavyweight title fight. Parkinson also cited David Haye's third-round demolition of Audley Harrison in 2010 and Fury's third meeting with Derek Chisora in 2022, which drew nearly 60,000 to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Dubois-Joshua fight topped the lot in terms of global attention, per the ESPN piece. Joshua sat 16th on Forbes' highest-paid athletes list at the time, two spots below Canelo Alvarez, and entered as a heavy favorite off his brutal knockout of Francis Ngannou. Instead, Dubois unleashed relentless power to hand Joshua one of the worst defeats of his career and set up a shot at undisputed glory against Usyk.

Wardley has been part of recent thrillers against Justis Huni and Frazer Clarke, and Parkinson suggested his clash with Dubois carries fight-of-the-year potential. The bout is scheduled for later this year, with the winner positioned for bigger opportunities in a heavyweight division still anchored by Fury and Usyk.

Source: espn.com