Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois for the WBO Heavyweight Championship

In May, Manchester’s Co-op Live will be the backdrop for Fabio Wardley to put his newly crowned WBO heavyweight championship belt on the line against Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois.

British heavyweight boxing is back with a bang! Both men are in the peak years of their athletic prime, both carrying concussive power in their hands, capable of ending a fight early .

With matching 95% knockout win ratios, the event has already earned the fitting moniker: “Don’t Blink.”

The bout presents each fighter with their own respective opportunity.

For Dubois, it’s a chance to strap championship hardware back around his waist. His last outing ended in disappointment, suffering a second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, losing his IBF heavyweight title in the process. Now, he looks to reassert himself at the very top of the division.

For Wardley, this fight is more about validation. After capturing the WBO heavyweight crown, thanks to Usyk vacating the belt in November, his first defence comes against one of the most dangerous punchers in the weight class. A victory over Dubois could put to bed any lingering negativity and help to cement his status as a legitimate world champion.

Yesterday at the press conference, held at the magnificent Dutch Hall in London, Queensbury’s founder and the pairs’ promoter, Frank Warren, put into words what he expects to see from the fight: “These guys don’t take a backward step, as soon as the bell goes, they come forward and let their shots go.”

Fabio was quick to express his reasoning for opting to have his first championship defence against Daniel: “I had my pick of the litter… and I picked him out… I looked at the list of names, and I said, ‘That’s the best name on the list.’”

Wardley’s route into being the heavyweight champion isn’t one that is considered normal by any means. Before his first professional boxing bout, he hadn’t had any amateur experience**, instead playing football for his beloved Ipswich Town FC in their youth academy.

It wasn’t the two fighters fighting the verbal battle throughout the press conference, it was more so coming from those accompanying Daniel and Fabio. Sam Jones and Don Charles chirped away in the corner of Dubois and the same applied for Michael Ofo for Wardley. But it was the champion who had the last comment, asserting dominance by saying, “You know what’s in me, I don’t need a dare, I don’t need you to bet me. I’m walking into the centre of the ring and I promise you, your man will be taking the first step back.”

No matter what goes on in Manchester come May, what can be assured is a banger of a main event. A knockout is virtually bound to take place on the night.

Just as the tagline suggests… Blink and you’ll miss it.