Paul Smith breaks down Dubois vs Wardley 2: ‘He’s gonna have to change a lot in the fight’

On October 17 at the O2 Arena in London, Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2 headlines a Queensberry Promotions card, live on DAZN. They will battle again for the WBO heavyweight world title Dubois won from Wardley in their first meeting earlier this year. Ahead of this eagerly anticipated rematch, talkSPORT analyst and former three-time super middleweight world title challenger Paul Smith has broken down the October 17 rematch.

Daniel Dubois defeats Fabio Wardley to win heavyweight title

Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) came into their first fight as the champion and enjoyed a brilliant start, knocking Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) down in the first and third rounds. 

Looking all at sea, Dubois, under the guidance of Don Charles, recovered well and continuously landed bomb after bomb on Wardley, who somehow stayed upright until the eleventh round, when the referee waved the bout off, with Wardley having a nasty cut to the nose and a swollen right eye. It was a great fight and a wonderful advert for heavyweight boxing.

Paul Smith breaks down Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2

Former three-time super middleweight world title challenger and talkSPORT analyst Paul Smith broke down Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2:

“In regard to a plan B and going back to the drawing board, adjusting and readjusting, I don’t think that’s there. With the stuff that we’ve seen recently, with the team, it’s evidently not there for the team also to do that (adjust).

“He’s (Wardley) gonna have to change a lot in the fight, because, as I said, I think he can hurt him. I think it could happen again. I think he could catch him again. And what he’s saying on there makes perfect sense; if I catch you clean, because them shots (first-fight knockdowns) weren’t really clean, then it could be a different story.

“Can he change a lot, Wardley? I’m not so sure. Can Dubois back up what he’s saying? I think he can. I think he can make it easier for himself on the night. I think a lot of this fight mainly depends on how Wardley turns up. What he does and whether he can adapt to what happened last time. Whether he can readjust. Whether he can land them shots early.”

“I think the best change (for Wardley) is to jump on him early, and try and make a big fight early on,” added Smith.

Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2 full fight card

• Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley, rematch, 12 rounds, for Dubois’ WBO heavyweight title
• Bakhodir Jalolov vs Solomon Dacres, 10 rounds, heavyweights
• Louie O’Doherty vs Michael Gomez Jr., 12 rounds, for O’Doherty’s British and Commonwealth lightweight titles
• Tony Curtis vs Kerim Agius, 8 rounds, super flyweights
• Manny Safari vs TBA, 4 rounds, super bantamweights

Stay with Big Fight Weekend for coverage of Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley, including results and video highlights, and post-fight analysis.

Featured Image Credit:

Queensberry, Leigh Dawney