Daniel Dubois, who claimed the WBO heavyweight title from Fabio Wardley last month, will not wait around too long for the rematch. Less than one week after Dubois halted Wardley in 11 violent rounds, the vanquished former beltholder triggered his contracted right for a rematch.
Wardley, however, took some serious punishment along the way and will need time to recover.
There are timelines at play, however. The 31-year-old had to quickly confirm he wanted the return. Now there is a deadline in place for Wardley, 20-1-1 (19 KOs), to formally agree a date. Should his recovery take too long, however, Dubois is happy to move on.
“I’m not going to wait on no one,” the 28-year-old told TalkSPORT. "I’m going to get busy with that belt and defend that belt. I can’t wait to start improving and maximising what I’ve been working on since I was a little kid.”
If the rematch is next for Dubois, 23-3 (22 KOs), he expects to win more emphatically.
“I expect to be a lot better, an improved version of myself now that I’m champion. It’s time to go and clean up this division again. I’m on my journey to getting all the belts and securing my legacy.
“I would maybe have [preferred to fight] someone else, travel with that belt. But if we’ve got to do it again, we’ll do it again.”
Fans will welcome a rerun. The first one, inside Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, was a genuine thriller as Dubois survived two early knockdowns to pummel the resistance from Wardley.
“It’s a fight, man,” he said when asked about his rickety start. “You get in the shower you’re going to get wet. I had to roll with the punches. It was a great fight, though, I enjoyed it.
"When you’re in a fight you can feel it [when your opponent is starting to fade]. But shout out to him, he’s a great gladiator and a great warrior. He put on a spectacular fight – it takes two to tango.”
