rewrite this title Daniel Dubois open to Fabio Wardley rematch after winning epic Manchester fight and praising ‘warrior’ opponent

Fabio Wardley could activate a rematch clause to force a second fight with Daniel Dubois.

Dubois overcame Wardley in a brutal 11-round battle in Manchester on Saturday, stopping the Ipswich man to win the WBO heavyweight title.

Dubois would welcome a second fight, but he needs time to recover too.

“I’m going to go on another good run – I need a nice rest now,” Dubois said.

“I want to congratulate Fabio on a great fight. What a warrior he is, he’s a tough cookie. He took my shots and tested me. If the rematch happens, bring it on.”

The victory over Wardley makes Dubois a two-time world champion and the manner of it will banish the doubts that have encircled him since his one-sided loss to Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch last year.

Don Charles, his trainer with whom Dubois briefly split from after that defeat to Usyk, said: “No human being on this planet could ever question this kid ever again.

“Certainly don’t question him in front of me. What he showed, he erased any doubt of all the negative talk.

“Because we were victorious, it’s almost like I’m glad the fight went that way so he could demonstrate this quitting narrative is not right. I think he ticked every box.”

Wardley dropped Dubois in the opening 10 seconds of the fight, and he sent the Londoner back to the canvas in the third round.

Dubois admitted: “I was a bit nervy to start off with and a bit all over the place but I pulled it together and got the victory.

“I needed to get whacked, come back up, I felt like a warrior in there, digging deep and coming back. I wasn’t going to be denied. I owed my dad and the people in my corner and I couldn’t let them down.”

As the contest progressed, Dubois turned the momentum of the fight almost entirely his way. It became increasingly ugly for Wardley, who absorbed a fearful number of Dubois’ power-punches. Somehow his toughness and sheer willpower kept him upright. But his face was badly marked up and he took a great deal of punishment.

It looked dangerous as he could barely keep his legs under him when rising from his stool at the start of the 10th round, but he was subjected to another round of Dubois’ ferocity before the referee intervened.

But it was a wildly exciting battle to watch and promoter Frank Warren wouldn’t be averse to running it back.

Warren said: “There’s nothing to complain about with this fight, it was a great fight, two unbelievable athletes who acted like sportsmen at the end.

“It’s a unique sport, boxing, and it’s filled with unique people.”