Wardley Rejects Retirement Talk After Dubois Loss

Fabio Wardley has no intention of retiring despite calls for him to hang up his gloves after Daniel Dubois stopped him inside six minutes at the O2 earlier this month.

The 31-year-old Ipswich heavyweight, who lost his world title challenge when his corner threw in the towel before round three, told reporters in the ring that Dubois himself had bounced back from career setbacks and he planned to follow the same path. Wardley has fought just 27 times in his life, all but four of them professional, and completed only 75 rounds in nearly a decade as a pro.

Historical Rebounds Support Wardley's Case

Ring Magazine columnist Declan Taylor wrote that boxing has become too quick to write off fighters after a loss. He cited Dubois as a perfect example — many thought the Londoner was finished after Joe Joyce broke his orbital bone in 2020, but Dubois has since become The Ring's top-ranked heavyweight. Derek Chisora lost to Agit Kabayel in 2017 and was urged to retire, yet fought 15 more times and secured generational wealth. Chris Eubank Jr heard similar calls after losing to George Groves in 2018 but went on to beat James DeGale and land lucrative fights with Conor Benn.

Taylor argued that retirement talk for Wardley stems not from safety concerns but from the belief that losing so quickly to Dubois proves he is useless. "That is a big problem for boxing," he wrote. Wardley sustained more damage in his first fight with Dubois, which went 12 rounds, than in the quick stoppage at the O2 where he was only briefly dropped to one knee and stopped on his feet.

On Saturday's undercard, referee Amy Pu drew criticism for kicking a towel out of the ring after Dan Garber's corner threw it in during the second round of his fight with Adam Olaniyan. Taylor defended the call, noting that Pu had checked Garber's condition and cleared him to continue before noticing the towel behind her. Any stoppage remains at the referee's discretion regardless of the corner's wishes. Louie O'Doherty retained his British and Commonwealth lightweight titles on the same card but admitted afterwards that he lost the fight on merit.

Source: ringmagazine.com