Just five months after a brutal 11-round heavyweight thriller between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley, the British duo are set to run it back.
Dubois and Wardley will rematch for the WBO heavyweight title on Oct. 17 at the O2 Arena in London, Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions announced Saturday during the Moses Itauma vs. Filip Hrgovic broadcast.
Uncrowned has round-by-round coverage of Itauma vs. Hrgovic.
DAZN pay-per-view will stream the show.
Dubois was knocked down in Rounds 1 and 3 by Wardley in their first meeting, but he weathered the storm and dominated down the stretch for a TKO victory in the penultimate frame. The first Dubois vs. Wardley clash is generally considered the frontrunner for 2026's Fight of the Year.
The win saw Dubois dethrone Wardley as WBO champion and become a two-time heavyweight titlist.
Wardley was making a voluntary defense against Dubois and therefore held an industry-standard rematch clause that expired at the end of 2026. It took Wardley just six days to activate the contractual rematch option.
Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) came from behind on the cards to stop Joseph Parker in 11 rounds in October 2025, capturing the WBO interim belt. After Oleksandr Usyk chose not to defend the full title against Wardley, the Brit was elevated to full champion. His reign was short-lived, losing the belt in his first defense.
Dubois (22-3, 22 KOs) previously held the IBF strap, but dropped it in his July 2025 rematch with Usyk, where all four major heavyweight titles were at stake. He became a two-time champion in his next fight against Wardley.
Dubois will now hope that another victory over Wardley sets up a monster all-British showdown in 2027 with Wardley's stablemate, Itauma, should the Itauma defeat Hrgovic later Saturday.
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