Eddie Hearn Predicts Late Fabio Wardley Stoppage Over Dubois
Eddie Hearn has backed fabio wardley to stop Daniel Dubois late on Saturday at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. The prediction lands with Wardley making the first defence of his world title after being elevated from interim to full WBO champion toward the end of last year.
Hearn and Wardley
Hearn did not hide his record on the heavyweight. “I’ve backed against Wardley about the last five times, and he’s proved me wrong the last five times,” he said. That run has carried Wardley through a seventh-round finish over David Adeleye in 2023, then stoppages over Frazer Clarke, Justis Huni and Joseph Parker.
He followed that with a sharper view on this fight. “I don’t even really want to back him, but if you ask me honestly, I believe Wardley will stop Daniel Dubois late in the fight.”
Wardley’s recent climb
Wardley’s path to this title defence has been built on late damage. He beat Parker by 11th-round triumph in October, then stopped Huni in round 10 after receiving a comprehensive boxing lesson. Those results kept him unbeaten while he kept improving on the job.
The title he now carries changed hands only toward the end of last year, when he was elevated from interim to full WBO champion. This is the first time he has had to protect it, and the matchup gives him another heavy-handed test rather than a tune-up.
Dubois brings power
Dubois enters with his own knockout rate and his own pressure points. He shares a 95% knockout-to-win ratio with Wardley, and his best victories came against Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua in 2024. That form still sits beside a recent setback: he has not returned to the win column since losing to Oleksandr Usyk.
Last July, Dubois lost by fifth-round stoppage in the rematch with Usyk and was relieved of his IBF title. That loss leaves Saturday as more than another heavyweight main event for him; it is a chance to reset against a champion whose recent run has been built on late stoppages and stubborn survival.
For Wardley, the question is whether the climb that included Adeleye, Clarke, Huni and Parker keeps going in the same direction. For Dubois, the fight offers a direct route back after the Usyk defeat, but Hearn’s read points to Wardley’s pressure deciding it before the final bell.
