Dubois v Wardley this weekend for the WBO Heavyweight Championship. Both can bang. Wardley is undefeated with a record of 20-0-1 with 19 KOs. Dubois has a record of 22-3 with 21 KOs. Wardley though (imo) has more "grit" about him when the going gets tough. Dubois has the better resume with wins over Hrgovic, Miller, AJ. Wardley has wins over Clarke, Huni, Parker. Dubois can win IF he lands the big big shots 1st and follows through. However, Dubois as we saw v Joyce and Usyk (x2) can easily lose heart if the fight doesn't go his way which is where Wardley excels with his grit - Parker, Huni - so with all that said, I am nudging towards Wardley for a Round 7 stoppage. Both men will hit the canvass. A shame it is behind a paywall.
Eventually he did suffer the injury. Prior to that - and it is only my opinion - he looked lost as Jab after Jab after Jab rammed his face way before the injury. By losing heart, it is another way of saying or suggesting that he runs out of ideas early if his main plan stalls. I am not for one minute saying that he is scared, soft or timid.
You expect DDD to get his jab going. When he does that, he can beat anyone. But if Wardley lands a hail mary shot DDD will be all over the shop
Can Wardley land a counter shot like he did VS Hunni? It might take something a little different to get the going one way or another. Both can bang. Wardley can looked gassed out but still find a puncher. He's not slick but very tough and hits hard. DD better technically but those question marks about how much is has in him will always remain. If Wardley starts him going backwards I think he wins. I cant split em, one minute I think DD will get on the jab and try and follow up with more than 1 shot, the next I Wardley is going to drag him into an untidy messy battle and find a finish. Should be fun to watch
It’s an absolute 50/50 shootout and someone is going to sleep before round five. Dubois hits like a tank but, as soon as he takes a clean shot, he’ll be eyeing up the canvas for a tactical knee. Meanwhile, Wardley’s entire defensive strategy seems to consist of blocking right hands with his nose until he gets angry enough to start swinging. The result depends on whether Dubois’ motherboard short circuits before Wardley runs out of plasma. Should be a good watch.
Can't wait for this one, pisses all over Fury vs AJ. I'm going with Wardley mid rounds, maybe 5-7. Think when the going gets tough Dubois will be looking for a way out. Then again it wouldn't surprise me if Dubois wins. Great match up
Dubois has shown heart but he’s also ‘chosen’ to go down, and looked for the knee/floor numerous times. If he doesn’t rattle Fabio early, I think he gets stopped again
I think some of the chat about DDD's heart is misplaced. He just gets a bit lost sometimes and can't figure out what to do. Joyce had him tied in knots with jabs, Usyk unsettled him in both fights one way or another. AJ kept walking onto shots and DDD had him figured out in minutes. He figured out or found a way against Hrgovic who seemed pretty one-dimensional that night, and Miller who is basically a fat Chisora. We'll never know until we see how Wardley approaches it - if he sits back and waits for counters then DDD might just get lost again. Front foot might suit him better in this one even if he has to take a shot like he did before sparking AJ.
I've said already, the only thing that makes this fight even, is Dubois' recent loss. I don't think it's that Daniel doesn't have a heart, I think he just mentally hit a wall x2 with Usyk. He's faced onslaughts vs Miller and Hergovic, and came through. If he faces another vs Fabio, who knows. He may also be dumbfounded by Wardley's unorthodox style. There's also a very good chance Daniel comes in and completely fries Fabio, if we're looking at actual boxing experience and credentials. However, if the best of Dubois loses against Fabio, we have to then have a serious look at how good Fabio really is.
I am excited about this one but DD is a level above Wardley and as much as I want Fabio to win I think DD will, convincingly
I can't hold that against him. I feel the same way as you. The consensus is that he can deal with being hit if he can keep hitting the opponent. Well, he was hitting Joyce a fair bit (not as much as other opponents hit Joyce mind) but he did break the eye socket. He'll be able to hit Wardley so lets see what happens. Wardley's nose will be pissing of blood in R1 so that may buoy Dubois even though it happens in just about every match. It is a great British heavyweight match.
I was listening to a podcast that had Shane McGuigan(DDD old trainer) recently, and he basically said that DDD has a fantastic powerful jab, but simply doesn't listen to instructions. Shane would tell him to get his jab working and box the opponent and Dan would just say "...I'm gonna knock him out".