As a battered and bruised Fabio Wardley made his way to the back following his war with Daniel Dubois in May - right eye closed shut, nose splattered, the white of his Ipswich Town-themed trunks now pink - the now-former WBO world champion had one thought and one thought only: “Get me back in.”
Wardley had just been on the losing end of a firefight that he could have had in the bag inside 15 seconds. His first-round knockdown of Dubois was followed up by another two rounds later, as the 31-year-old consigned criticism of being a slow starter to the scrapheap once and for all. Alas, it was during the third round where one sharp Dubois overhand right turned the tides. A torrent of ‘Dynamite’ punishment ensued, proving his heart beyond doubt, and Wardley was eventually stopped in the 11th.
