Published 15 October 2026. Analysis and predictions are our opinion,
not a guarantee of anything. 18+, please gamble responsibly.
Daniel Dubois defends the WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley at the O2 in London on Saturday 17 October. DAZN’s pay-per-view coverage starts at 7pm UK time, and the main event ring walks are expected at around 10.30pm, though that depends on how long the undercard runs. It is a rematch of May’s fight in Manchester, which Dubois won in the 11th round after being knocked down twice.
How the first fight went
Dubois and Wardley met at Co-op Live in Manchester on 9 May, with Wardley defending the WBO title. Wardley dropped Dubois in the first round and again in the third. Dubois got up both times, took over the fight from the middle rounds and was ahead on the scorecards when referee Howard Foster stopped it 28 seconds into round 11. The win made Dubois a two-time heavyweight world champion. Wardley activated the rematch clause within days, and the second fight was announced at the O2 at the end of August.
The case for Dubois
Dubois is 23-3 with 22 knockouts. His three defeats came against Joe Joyce in 2020 and Oleksandr Usyk twice, and the second Usyk loss in July 2025 was the low point: a fifth-round knockout at Wembley that cost him the IBF title. Beating Wardley ten months later, from two knockdowns down, put him back at the top.
The detail that matters for the rematch is what happened after round three. Dubois absorbed Wardley’s best work early and was the stronger fighter by the end, which is why he was ahead on the cards when it was stopped. He has said little beyond promising “another major performance and dominant victory”, and the market reads the first fight the same way.
The case for Wardley
Wardley is 20-1-1 with 19 knockouts, and the record shows how he wins: early and hard. His last three wins before May were a 10th-round knockout of Justis Huni at Portman Road in June 2025, an 11th-round stoppage of Joseph Parker at the O2 in October 2025 that won him the interim WBO belt, and a first-round stoppage of Frazer Clarke in their rematch in October 2024. He was elevated to full WBO champion in November 2025.
He has had Dubois on the floor twice already. He has also won at this venue against a former world champion, and he has called the O2 “a second home”. After the first fight he said “adjustments needed to be made”, which is a fair summary of his task: keep the early power and manage the second half of the fight better than he did in Manchester.
What looks the smart angle
Virgin Bet are the only one of our partners in the price feed we use for this fight, so theirs is the only partner row in the table. They have Dubois at 1.26, about 1/4, Wardley at 31/10 (4.10) and the draw at 17/1 (18.00). Among books we have no deal with, Paddy Power go 16/5 (4.20) on Wardley, the biggest price in the table, and 888sport have Dubois at 1/3 (1.33). Coral and Betway go 20/1 (21.00) on the draw.
Dubois at 1/4 prices the rematch as a formality, and we are not sure it is one. Wardley knocked him down twice in May, in rounds one and three. The case for Wardley at 31/10 is a puncher who has already shown he can hurt the champion, fighting in a venue where he has won before. The case for Dubois is that he was the better fighter over 11 rounds and should start more carefully this time. On balance, the Dubois price looks short to us and Wardley’s looks the more interesting of the two. That is opinion on the prices as they stood on Tuesday 13 October, not a prediction, and fight odds often move in the final days of a promotion.
We hold no deal with Paddy Power, Coral, Betway, 888sport, Grosvenor or LiveScore Bet, which is why their prices do not link out.
Elsewhere
Earlier on the card, Louie O’Doherty defends his British and Commonwealth lightweight titles against Michael Gomez Jr. Earlier on Saturday, Everton host Chelsea at 12.30pm and British Champions Day runs at Ascot through the afternoon. Sunday has Leeds v Manchester United, and the Northern Ireland Open snooker starts in Belfast.
The sportsbook offers for fight night
A 1/4 favourite is too short for every partner offer on the site, so the qualifying bet here is Wardley or the draw.
Ad: Virgin Bet’s welcome offer is the one partner offer we can match to a price in the table. It needs a £10+ cash bet at 1/2 (1.5) or bigger within 14 days of registering, after a £10 deposit. Dubois at about 1/4 does not clear that bar. Wardley at 31/10 and the draw at 17/1 both do. You get 2 x £10 sportsbook free bets and 2 x £5 Bet Builder tokens, with seven days to accept them and seven to use them. The Bet Builder tokens need a single selection at Evens or bigger.
Betfred’s bet £10, get £50 in free bets is the largest sports package on the site. The first bet must be £10 or more at Evens (2.0) or bigger and settle within seven days, so it only works on the outsider or the draw. You get £30 in sports free bets and £20 in Bet Builder free bets within 24 hours of settlement, valid seven days, and the deposit has to be by debit card.
William Hill’s bet £10, get £30 in free bets has a 1/2 minimum and needs promo code R30 at registration, a first deposit of £10 or more and a £10 single on any sports market. Three £10 free bets follow once it settles, valid seven days and to be used in full. PayPal, Skrill, NETELLER, Apple Pay and several other deposit methods are excluded.
For the long wait through the undercard, Virgin Bet also run 100 free spins on Eye of Horus and 100 free spins on King Kong Cash Even Bigger Bananas 2, both paying winnings as cash with no cap. William Hill’s 50 free spins on Mining Pots of Gold needs code M50 and a £10 stake, with 24 hours to use the spins and a £30 cap on winnings.
If you think Wardley can finish what he started in May, claim the Virgin Bet welcome offer here and take the only partner price on the fight. Bet only what you can afford to lose.
