Daniel Dubois insists he won’t wait for Fabio Wardley rematch as timeline emerges

Daniel Dubois will explore alternative options if he is forced to wait to rematch Fabio Wardley.

Dubois and Wardley met in arguably the fight of the year for the WBO heavyweight title, with knockdowns, huge shots and gruelling warfare galore.

It was Dubois who eventually forced the stoppage to capture the belt from the champion.

But the Ipswich native decided within days that he would activate a rematch clause for the heavyweight pair to go at it again.

Promoter Frank Warren expects it to take place in the final quarter of 2026 but it could depend on the recovery of Wardley who took some brutal punishment.

But Dubois told talkSPORT he is not willing to hang around.

“Well, that’s what they’re talking about, but I’m not going to wait on no one,” the WBO title-holder said.

“I’m going to get busy with that belt, defend that belt, and I can’t wait to start improving, getting out there, and just maximizing what we’ve done and what we’ve worked on since I was a little kid and now we’re here.

“It’s been a good journey. I expect to be a lot better, an improved version of myself now that I’m champion.

“It’s time to go and clean up this division again. I’m on my journey to getting all the belts and securing my legacy.

“I would maybe have preferred to fight someone else and travel with that belt. But if we’ve got to do it again, we’ll do it again.”

For now the sequel will be contractually binding and talks are going on behind the scenes as to a timeline for the bout.

When could Dubois vs Wardley land?

For now it appears for the sake of activity that Dubois will fight again before the end of the year.

talkSPORT.com uncovered that ‘Dynamite’ is already raring to go and is ready to get back into training already.

As for Wardley he is yet to publicly comment on his own timeline.

But Dubois’ business manager Riz Khan has revealed that it will need to be within the next few months.

Khan added: “The finer details are with Frank Warren after he exercised his option.

“There will be a timeline, we don’t know the scars Fabio will have physically and psychologically.

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“We won’t wait forever, so if it takes a number of months then we will have to move on.

“It will be a number of months away, within the 12-month period. If it will go over the expiry date, then we will be looking at other opponents.”