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Should Fabio Wardley have been saved sooner in brutal Daniel Dubois battle?
Daniel Dubois produced one of the most heroic performances of his crazy career as he survived two heavy knockdowns to overcome Fabio Wardley in one of the best heavyweight title fights of all time .
Dubois endured an early crisis after going down twice in the opening sessions, but once he had settled down, his heavy artillery was unleashed on Wardley throughout the remainder of the contest before Howard Foster sensibly stepped in at the start of round 11 to save Wardley from further punishment.
The referee's intervention was applauded throughout the boxing community, but Wardley’s corner, headed by Robert Hodgins and Ben Davison, did receive criticism for not rescuing Wardley earlier as his right eye was closing, his nose was damaged, and his face was covered in blood.
Both Foster and the ringside doctor made frequent assessments regarding Wardley’s condition, but with the commentary team on DAZN urging Wardley’s corner to call the fight off, their decision to let him continue brought further damage an inevitable conclusion.
"Save the man, he's a father, he's got a family. Pull the plug on this one now," said Darren Barker when calling the action in Manchester.
His co-commentator for the fight, Carl Frampton, a former world champion like Barker, believed the fight should have been stopped much earlier by adding, “his corner should have stepped in before the 10th round, at least.”
On Instagram, Shane McGuigan, Dubois’ former trainer, was not happy with what he seen from Wardley’s corner.
“The curse of being whilst your hurt. Pull him out you chumps...Fabio is an amazing puncher but he was so hurt that I believe the ouch power had left him.”
The general consensus from the boxing world was that Wardley received far too much punishment than necessary, but it must be remembered that his team know him better than anyone watching or commentating on the fight.
After dropping Dubois twice, it was clear that Wardley could hurt his opponent, but as stated by McGuigan, that punch power was almost certain to lose its impact as Wardley weakened and Dubois got stronger.
The facial damage suffered by Wardley will have made his task harder and there were moments when walking around the ring when his legs seemed to be betraying him even when he was just trying to navigate the fight.
In his previous two fights before Dubois, Wardley had overcame numerous tough moments before pulling miracles out the bag late on, but whatever you want to say about the qualities of Justis Huni and Joseph Parker, neither possess the power of Dubois nor where they landing as freely and frequently as the London man.
Between the doctors, the corner, and the referee, there were several moments the bout could have been halted before Foster finally jumped in, but all with have their reasons for allowing the action to continue.
A heavyweight title fight, boxing’s richest prize, featuring a fighter renowned for his powers of recuperation at the highest level, all with the authority to bring matters to an end perhaps had belief that Wardley could turn it around, but after finally succumbing to his first defeat, it remains to be seen just what damage has been done.
It is unlikely we will see Wardley fight until 2027 and it could even be a rematch with Dubois for the heavyweight title he’s just lost. Only then will we know for certain just how much Wardley has left and whether the choices made by those closest to him will come back to haunt him in years to come.
Fighters are rarely the same after tough battles that will forever live in the hearts and minds of fights fans. Wardley gave everything against Dubois, and it is unclear whether he will ever be able to give that much again.
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