Boxing
I took Wardley this distance on his debut. He went on to stop every opponent and become heavyweight champion but what did I do?
Wardley vs. Dubois: Only on DAZN PPV - May 9
Fabio Wardley will partake in the biggest fight of his career on May 9 when he defends his WBO world title against Daniel Dubois , live on DAZN PPV , from Manchester.
Nine years on from his pro debut, Wardley has produced a remarkable run of form to land at this point following a brief spell as a White-Collar fighter.
DAZN FACE OFF: Wardley vs. Dubois
Watch explosive encounter here
Having his first fight as a professional, Wardley was an unknown quantity, but he brought experience from being a sparring partner for Dillian Whyte and that helped his profile in his early days fighting for pay.
Today, with 19 stoppages from 20 wins, Wardley’s only points victory occurred on his professional debut when he outpointed Jakub Wojcik 40-35 after dropping him in the opener. Frazer Clarke has also extended Wardley to the final bell, but that fight was scored a draw in 2024 before Wardley stopped him in the opening round in a rematch.
Wojcik can take great pride in taking Wardley the distance seeing as the likes of Joseph Parker, Justis Huni, and David Adeleye were all stopped by the Ipswich man, but has the tough Pole done anything else since providing Wardley with a test?
Before facing Wardley in 2017, Wojcik had travelled to Britain before in losing efforts to Sam Hyde and Nathan Gorman.
Five months after losing to Wardley, Wojcik was back in Britain to be take on Mikael Lawal in Liverpool, but he was beaten on points.
In October of the same year, Wojcik would fight twice but despite beating Lukas Skirka in two rounds, he was defeated by Krzysztof Twardowski in his native Poland and that remains his last fight.
No details currently exist of Wojcik’s whereabouts in 2026, but after finishing his career in 2017 with a record of 9-21-2, he can tell family and friends that he was the first man to take future world champion, Wardley, the distance.
Wardley vs Dubois on DAZN PPV
Watch Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois on DAZN PPV this Saturday, May 9. Buy as a one-off PPV or get it included with the DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription, which also includes the Usyk vs. Verhoeven (May 23), Fury vs. Hall (June 13) and Zayas vs. Ennis (June 27) PPVs without any extra one-off costs.
For pricing, more information, and to sign up to watch, click here
