Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois are finalizing a deal for a WBO heavyweight title fight on May 9 in Manchester, England, sources told The Ring. The all-British showdown would mark Wardley’s first defense of the WBO heavyweight title. Which capped a meteoric rise for the unbeaten contender, who enters 2026 as The Ring’s No. 1-ranked heavyweight.
Wardley, 31, is coming off a career-defining campaign that vaulted him into boxing’s heavyweight elite. In June, he scored a dramatic come-from-behind 10th-round knockout of Justis Huni. Before delivering his most complete performance to date an 11th-round TKO of former champion Joseph Parker.