‘Best heavyweight fight I’ve ever put on’: Frank Warren on Wardley vs Dubois brawl

Daniel Dubois (left) and Fabio Wardley during their WBO heavyweight title bout at Co-op Live, Manchester. Picture date: Saturday May 9, 2026. (Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images

Promoter Frank Warren has been around for many decades now, and he’s put on his share of heavyweight fights. But he says that today’s battle between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley was the best he’s ever promoted.

And for once, this doesn’t seem anything like “promoter-speak.” If you watched the fight, you know this was something sincere from Warren, as Wardley — who twice dropped Dubois in the opening three rounds — took a horrendous beating but refused to quit, until referee Howard Foster finally stopped the bout in round 11.

“It was amazing. These two guys showed such heart, both of them,” Warren said. “Great heart, chins. It was an amazing fight. It was just absorbing, it had everything. Best heavyweight fight I’ve ever put on.”

Warren did say that Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KO) had a rematch clause in the contract, as he came in as WBO champion. But Wardley may also need significant time off, and Warren wasn’t firm that a rematch would come next, for understandable reasons.

“There is a rematch clause in the contract. Let the dust settle. There’s a lot of things happening in the next couple of months in the heavyweight division, and then we’ll see,” he said.

“But (Dubois) is back, and Fabio, he’s not going away, either. He’ll be back. He’s a true, true brave, gutsy man. Unbelievable. I take my hat off to both of them.”