Lose Big, Win Bigger – The ethical problem with Wardley vs. Dubois

So, it’s official. Fabio Wardley will make the first defence of his WBO world heavyweight title against Daniel Dubois in an all-British affair on May 9 in Manchester.

Full disclosure. Wardley vs Dubois is a fight that excites me. I see it as a 50-50 fight and it should be a bombs away, don’t blink slugfest. Both men can really whack and will likely indulge each other in a firefight.

The fact it is happening in Manchester also appeals to this northern soul. However, while I am 100% confident that the fight itself will deliver, ethically am not sure it should actually be happening.

I’ve no issue with Wardley defending the belt he picked up after he was elevated to WBO champion following confirmation that Oleksandr Usyk was relinquishing said belt after being ordered to face the British challenger next.

The Ring

The unbeaten 30-year-old has earned his flowers after back-to-back thrilling wins over Justis Huni and Joseph Paker.

What is spinning my nut though is Dubois being fast-tracked into yet another heavyweight world title fight so soon after being stopped by Usyk. DDD’s defeat last July was clear, clinical, and witnessed by millions. It was also his most recent contest.

Daniel absolutely deserved the Usyk title fight rematch last summer after going on a tear between December 2023 and September 2024 and beating Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua (all via stoppage).

Surely though, there should be some sort of rebuild – however small - before he gets another world title tilt?

• Read next | Wardley vs Dubois - The violent heavyweight title fight that should come with a warning sign

I had to really rack my brains to think of the last time a heavyweight lost a world title fight and then boxed another world title fight straight after with no tune up (not counting rematches).

All I could come up with was Evander Holyfield, who lost to Lennox Lewis in a 1999 heavyweight unification fight and then in his very next fight defeated John Ruiz to win the ‘vacant’ WBA heavyweight title.

‘The Real Deal’ won a razor-thin decision against Ruiz to become the first four-time world heavyweight champion but there is a big old Asterix against all of that as it only happened because the WBA stripped Lewis – after some lobbying from Don King – due to Lennox electing to fight Michael Grant instead of ‘The Quiet Man’.

Lewis was still the man who beat the man – despite what that WBA might have thought - when Holyfield squeaked past Ruiz via scores of 116–112, 114–113 and 114–113.

I digress. As per WBO rules, their champions can make voluntary defences against any of the top 15 rated contenders, provided they comply with mandatory requirements within 12 months.

Team Wardley will probably argue there was nobody else available and that a Dubois fight made the most sense commercially. It probably does stack up well in a commercial sense. But what about a sporting sense?

You cannot try and tell me with a straight face that none of those names in the top 15 of the WBO heavyweight rankings who were available and who have managed to put a few wins together - or even a win – could not have been considered as an opponent for Wardley’s first dance as WBO ruler?

This matchup is a peculiar display of sporting logic. Old timers rightly point out that boxing is a mental game more than it is a physical one. Returning to the ring involves overcoming fear, rebuilding confidence and learning from past mistakes. Where is Dubois’ head at right now?

Look at Joshua himself. Following his back-to-back losses to the mercurial Usyk, AJ had to rebuild his career and confidence, facing intense scrutiny before returning to the elite level. This is the normal order of things.   

It must be so difficult for boxing casuals – who like watching big fights but do not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the modern game – to fathom how Dubois is again fighting for a portion of the richest prize in sport having done nothing (save for firing and re-hiring his trainer Don Charles) since that Usyk defeat. 

One of modern society’s many failings is the fact that we are rewarding mediocrity too much generally. Shows like Love Island prioritise drama over talent, while platforms such as TikTok and YouTube reward controversy over contribution. In this instance, I’m a touch uncomfortable with rewarding flat-out failure (L-KO 5 Usyk) so quickly when it comes to a portion of the richest prize in sport.

And to be very clear here, I don’t blame Dubois. You don’t get what you deserve in life, you get what you negotiate. And the people going into bat for Daniel have done a grand job. This will be his sixth world title fight, which is not bad going given he is only 28 and plenty were writing him off as far back as 2020 after that first career loss to Joe Joyce.

He is an exciting fighter who is never out of the gym. He will bring it on the night, and I’ll probably have a decent bet on him. That said, he must be pinching himself, as it seems that when it comes to Dubois and world title fights the glass isn’t half full - it’s refillable.

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