TRENDING Brewers take 3-0 NLCS lead Bats stun Snell, Dodgers Caleb's return won't solve it all NFL updates Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit Story by Story by Fabio Wardley is an underdog again — just the way he likes it Fabio Wardley faces Daniel Dubois on Saturday at London’s O2 Arena. (James Fearn via Getty Images) Lewis Watson Uncrowned Thu, October 15, 2026 at 5:09 PM UTC · 6 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fabio Wardley is in a reflective mood. On Saturday night, he rematches Daniel Dubois for the WBO heavyweight title inside London's O2 Arena, 163 days after losing it to the same man, along with his unbeaten record as a professional.
"Honestly, it's a great feeling," Wardley explained at a press conference. It is not the response you might expect from a fighter operating at the summit of boxing's most unforgiving division. But Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) was referring to his return to the role of the underdog — a position he embraced throughout his unconventional, well-documented journey from white-collar boxing to the paid ranks.
"I actually really love it. It feels more natural, more weightless," Wardley said. "Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic being a world champion and holding that belt. But now I just feel free. The talk around the fight has changed. I'm back to being expected to lose , and things going worse for me."
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After Wardley's defeat to Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) in May, a thrilling, gruesome and captivating Fight of the Year contender, you would have struggled to find more than a handful of people inside Manchester's Co-op Live willing to predict a return before the end of the year.
Fabio Wardley says things will be different this time.
A rematch with the same man who had left Wardley's face bloodied and disfigured? That seemed more improbable still. And that's before a suggestion that he could find himself in a position to reverse the result.
The 11 rounds they shared were, at times, uncomfortable viewing. In the aftermath, I wrote that the fight was a " sobering reminder of boxing's bravery complex ".
Yet here we are, just days away from these two giants running it back, and much of that discomfort has evaporated. The anticipation has returned. The talk is of possible redemption and another heavyweight war.
It is one of boxing's great contradictions: the same brutality that makes us question the sport's limits is often what makes us desperate to see it happen all over again .
But this time, as the 31-year-old from Ipswich is all too aware, he is priced as long as +300 with bookmakers to have his hand raised in victory.
The only other time in Wardley's 22-fight professional career he has entered a contest as an underdog was against Joseph Parker last October. The result? The finest victory of his career, as he became world heavyweight champion for the first time.
Just 173 days later, he lost the crown to "Dynamite" Dubois.
Now, with the odds stacked against him once more, Wardley must find a way to repeat the trick against the very man who took his title — and left him with the scars to prove it.
"I've been proving people wrong for I don't know how many years now," Wardley said. "Seemingly for me, it's better when I'm told I'm going to be the underdog and I'm going to lose, that this is a level too far for me.
"I'm the challenger and chaser and honestly for me it all just feels like, 'This is it, this is the nice bit that I enjoyed for the past however many years on my rise and on my way up.' It feels great."
Claiming to thrive in the role of the underdog or B-side is sometimes used by those fighters who are trying to convince the world of their chances in combat. It's a natural, reflex position to take. Hundreds of fighters have told me that they are happy being disregarded in a fight to catch their opponent cold, but I suspect only a few truly mean it.
But Wardley does. And he articulates why very impressively.
"A relaxed fighter is comfortable and confident, and I think that's always beneficial, so this improves my chances," Wardley said. "I always feel like the underdog — always. I always carry that mentality.
"The way I came up, that's the way it's got to be. It's backs against the wall, ready to bite and attack."
It's a humbling approach from a man who is the yin to the yang of Dubois' cold, unapproachable fight-week nature. Wardley during fight week is like no other fighter I have come across: He's open, relaxed, willing to talk, talk and talk.
There is no separation between fighter and media. Wardley — as much as this can be said — feels like one of us . He'll share in jokes. Self-reflect. He's able to laugh at himself — a rare trait in the machismo-filled world of professional boxing.
And it is this self-awareness that could help Wardley make the necessary adjustments this weekend. He has spoken of his reluctance to "throw the baby out with the bath water" when it comes to his team. The trust remains. There is no need for wholesale change, just a few tweaks to the game plan.
"I wouldn't be anywhere without their faith in me," Wardley said about his team. "My mantra is to keep it as simple as possible. My team hasn't changed for five or six years. They are all invested, they've lived through all the moments; the good and the bad. There's a different level of attachment there. That's why I trust them so much."
Wardley has also pondered becoming a "victim" of his "own success," both across his career and during those 11 brutal rounds in May. Winning can breed complacency, he suggests. When success becomes the norm, it is easy to believe what has worked before will always work again.
That played out in microcosm against Dubois. Wardley dropped the Londoner twice in the opening three rounds and appeared to have the upper hand. But he won the early battles only to lose the war, his initial success perhaps encouraging him to believe he could keep forcing the fight on his terms.
This time, the challenge is not simply to repeat what worked in those opening rounds. It is to recognize what went wrong when the momentum shifted — and to resist the temptation to make the same mistakes twice.
Wardley is relying on finding those cited adjustments. "I've got a proven track record in doing so," he explains, referring to his two-fight affair with Frazer Clarke. The second meeting finished inside one round, seven months after a contested split-decision draw.
"Maybe a loss is worse in your imagination than it is in reality," he said. "Maybe it's good to get that off my back. I didn't start in boxing thinking it would never happen and I would go undefeated."
They say a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter, but what of the fighter with a weight lifted? Wardley may enter the ring Saturday as heavy as 250 pounds, but in his eyes, he's never felt lighter.
Source: Sports
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