Boxing Wire

Category: Analysis

  • Tony Bellew Breaks Down Daniel Dubois’ Chances vs Fabio Wardley

    Tony Bellew Breaks Down Daniel Dubois’ Chances vs Fabio Wardley

    Tony Bellew has backed Fabio Wardley to retain the WBO heavyweight championship against Daniel Dubois on Saturday, making the undefeated British champion a slight favorite and explaining exactly why he believes Wardley is more difficult to beat than his resume might suggest.

    Speaking on talkSPORT Boxing, Bellew acknowledged that Wardley has repeatedly found ways to win fights that by all logic he should have lost, and argued that quality represents his greatest asset heading into the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

    “Fabio has been absolutely amazing. A couple of times I have thought that he was going to get beat and he has shown me up and come really good. The thing with Fabio is, he has more strings to his bow than Daniel does, so he has more ways that he can win. The biggest factor for me is that he has shown he can get off the floor, ride out the really tough moments in fights and win fights that, if I am being totally honest, he doesn’t deserve to win. He was losing every round against Justis Huni and he was losing against Joseph Parker. But, you see that undefeated thing that he has got going — it stands him in such good stead and it gives him such confidence because you have to nail Fabio Wardley to the floor to beat him. He is not going to give in, no matter if everyone is against him, he has got this ‘me against the world’ attitude and you will see on Saturday night that you will have to really nail him to the floor to beat him. I am not saying that it is impossible, but I make Fabio a slight favourite.”

    Wardley enters the fight as WBO heavyweight champion, with his undefeated record built on wins over Justis Huni and Joseph Parker, both of which were secured while trailing on the judges’ scorecards before turning the fights around. 

    Dubois, meanwhile, arrives as the more decorated name on paper. The former IBF heavyweight champion holds notable wins over Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, and Jarrell Miller, though he is coming off a loss to Oleksandr Usyk last July that exposed him against the very top level of the division. A win over Wardley on Saturday would make him a two-time world heavyweight champion and restore his position as a genuine contender in the broader heavyweight picture.

    Wardley vs. Dubois takes place Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

  • Tyson Fury Enters WBC Top Spot Despite Tough Stretch

    Tyson Fury Enters WBC Top Spot Despite Tough Stretch

    Tyson Fury has re-entered the WBC heavyweight rankings following his comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov last month in London, climbing straight to the number one position in the sanctioning body’s latest monthly update released on May 6.

    Fury, now 35-2-1 with 24 knockouts, bumped previous number one Lawrence Okolie to second place. Okolie’s status is complicated by a recent positive test for a banned performance-enhancing drug that could affect his ranking going forward.

    The climb to number one is notable but does not immediately alter Fury’s competitive path. He is not currently pursuing the WBC belt, which remains with Oleksandr Usyk, the two-time undisputed heavyweight champion who also holds the IBF and WBA titles and remains the lineal and Ring Magazine champion. Usyk is set to face kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven in a crossover boxing match on May 23 in Egypt.

    The WBC also has interim beltholder Agit Kabayel at 27-0 with 19 knockouts, who would receive first access to Usyk should a title fight be ordered or the belt vacated. Fury’s number-one ranking would theoretically place him next in line after Kabayel, but he is instead committed to his long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua, which is expected to take place in Britain in November.

    The full WBC heavyweight rankings behind Fury and Okolie are as follows: Moses Itauma at number three, followed by Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, Deontay Wilder, Efe Ajagba, Martin Bakole, Richard Torrez Jr., Richard Riakporhe, Andrii Novytskyi, Frank Sanchez, Bakhodir Jalolov, Guido Vianello, and Labinot Xhoxhaj.

    Fury previously held the WBC title during his first reign before suffering back-to-back losses to Usyk in 2024. He had also held the IBF, WBA, and WBO titles after defeating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 before stepping away from the sport amid a period that included a positive test for a banned substance.