Daniel Dubois retains his WBO title against Fabio Wardley

Daniel Dubois has retained his WBO world title after beating Fabio Wardley in their rematch at the O2 Arena.

Dubois dominated from the start, with Wardley somehow surviving a brutal opening round.

But the towel came in from the Wardley corner towards the end of round two.

Speaking to DAZN after the fight, Dubois said that "Fabio is a great warrior, but it was my time, my era".

"I had bad intentions from the beginning," he said. "Our back was against the wall first time.

"We just had to go out there and show we meant business tonight."

Wardley paid respect to the champion, saying Dubois is "a testament himself to losing and coming back - I'll be looking to do the exact same thing".

"It's never fun to lose," he added. "It is what it is, I've always thrown myself in with the biggest, toughest, meanest guys around; there's no shame in testing yourself against the best."

Later, Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic entered the ring and talked up the prospect of a rematch with Dubois in March.

Hrgovic - the current IBF heavyweight champion - beat Dubois two years ago.

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Dubois allowed Wardley to do most of the talking ahead of the fight.

Wardley earlier told reporters at his final press conference in North Greenwich that "often I'm the instigator and once I smell blood, I'm getting him out of there".

Dubois previously said: "Of course I respect him, but I'm just ready to go out to battle.

"I'm feeling stronger than in the first fight. I'm grounded and ready to do my job."

When the British heavyweight rivals fought for the first time in May, Dubois was knocked down twice in the early rounds.

However, he recovered and took control of the fight before forcing a late stoppage

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(c) Sky News 2026: Daniel Dubois retains his WBO title against Fabio Wardley