This weekend, Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois will clash in the kind of fight that always entices boxing fans: an all-British heavyweight title bout.

Wardley enters the main-event showdown with an unbeaten record, having bailed himself out in his last two fights; against Justis Huni then Joseph Parker, the Ipswich boxer was down on the scorecards when he secured late knockouts.

The October win over Parker saw Wardley, 31, win the interim WBO title, which was later upgraded when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the regular belt. And Wardley may be able to edge closer to a fight with Usyk if he can overcome Dubois, 28.

Last time out, in July, Dubois suffered his second stoppage loss to Usyk, dropping the IBF title to the Ukrainian in the process. But Dubois remains a dangerous opponent for anyone in the division, and it feels like a KO is guaranteed when he faces Wardley.

Here’s all you need to know:

When is the fight?

Wardley vs Dubois will take place on Saturday 9 May at the Co-op Live in Manchester. The main card will begin at 6pm BST (10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET), with main-event ring walks following at around 11pm BST (3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET).

How can I watch it?

The action will stream live on DAZN pay-per-view at a cost of £24.99. You do not need a DAZN subscription to purchase the event, but plans are available here and start at £15.99 per month.

Latest Odds

Betting sites give a slight edge to the champion, with Wardley odds-on for the win over Dubois, who is around the even-money mark with most bookies.

Wardley - 5/6

Dubois - 21/20

Draw - 18/1

Odds via Betfred. The Independent vets betting sites for usability, security and responsible gambling tools. You can claim free bets here to use across a range of sports. Please read the terms.

Fight card in full

Subject to change; ‘C’ denotes champion

Fabio Wardley (C) vs Daniel Dubois (WBO heavyweight title)

Jack Rafferty vs Ekow Essuman (super-lightweight)

Bradley Rea vs Liam Cameron (light-heavyweight)

David Morrell vs Zak Chelli (light-heavyweight)

Khaleel Majid vs Gavin Gwynne (super-lightweight)

Bakhodir Jalolov vs Agron Smakici (heavyweight)

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For as good a fight as Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois is, is it as two-dimensional as some are claiming? Does it really boil down to “Dubois early or Wardley late”?

It’s an understandable narrative on the face of it, given each man’s recent form, but the truth is, it might not hold up to much scrutiny. So, let’s waste no time.

We’ll address Wardley’s side of this equation first. He will enter Saturday’s WBO heavyweight title defence on the back of two late knockouts – one against Justis Huni in June, the other versus Joseph Parker in October.

These were not just late stoppages, though, with the Ipswich boxer taking out Huni in round 10 and Parker in the 11th; they were comeback KOs, as Wardley trailed on the scorecards on both occasions.

Yet for all their similarities, these finishes can be distinguished, too.

Wardley’s finish against Huni was a true one-punch KO, a mammoth overhand that beat the Australian’s cross for pace, undoing all of Huni’s good work in an instant. In that moment, Wardley was something of a matador, edging backwards slightly while Huni stepped in on his own jab feint and right straight.

Against Parker, there was some controversy. Before the finish in the 11th round, Wardley actually hurt the New Zealander with a sneaky rear uppercut in the dying seconds of the 10th. Wardley could not seal the stoppage then, but midway through the penultimate round, he drew down Parker’s hands with a feinted jab to the chest, before a step-in cross to the chin. The ensuing onslaught was not as accurate from Wardley as it might have been, but there were enough clean shots and enough eye-catching swings to force the referee to intervene.

So, on this occasion, it was more about optics and accumulation than a single-shot, Houdini-esque escape. Still, it was an escape.

Yet Wardley’s two previous outings, a pair of duels with Frazer Clarke, showed that the 31-year-old can be involved in very different types of fights. The first clash with Clarke was a split draw after a hellish 12 rounds, while the rematch ended inside two and a half minutes, as Wardley literally put a dent in his fellow Briton’s head.

In fact, prior to this, many of Wardley’s wins had come via early stoppages, helping him build an overall record of 20-0-1 (19 KOs).

And what of Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs)?

Firstly, his last “early” finish came three years ago, when he stopped Kevin Lerena in round two after challenging fans’ perceptions of his own heart (Dubois had climbed off the canvas three times in round one, battling through a knee injury).

Since then, the 28-year-old has fought five times and gone 3-2. His defeats by Oleksandr Usyk occurred in round nine in 2023 and round five last summer, while his wins came in the fifth frame (Anthony Joshua, 2024), eighth (Filip Hrgovic, 2024) and 10th (Jarrell Miller, 2023).

While some see Dubois as a flat-track bully who does not like to endure a tough fight, the former IBF champ absorbed significant damage against Miller before stopping the American in the final 10 seconds of their bout, and he was also tagged cleanly and repeatedly by Hrgovic before rallying to force a doctor stoppage. He was even buzzed by Joshua in the seconds prior to knocking out his fellow Briton.

So, Dubois does have the capacity to withstand damage, despite any surface-level or lazy narratives around him, and he does have the ability to stop a fight late. Conversely, Wardley is not only a threat in the final few rounds, even if his two bouts in 2025 belie this reality.

Regardless, there is a good chance that this turns into a brawl quickly – and, actually, that a finish arrives in the middle rounds. “A finish” replaces “the finish” here, although the consensus is that Wardley vs Dubois will not go the full distance. But even if the final round is required at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena, who is to say the final bell will be? This fight has been marketed as “Don’t Blink” for a reason.

Eddie Hearn has claimed that Conor Benn turned down three world-title fights against different opponents before leaving Matchroom earlier this year.

In February, Benn was involved in a shock split from Hearn’s promotional company Matchroom, signing with rivals Zuffa Boxing – despite Hearn’s apparent loyalty to the British star during a two-year saga that began with Benn failing two drug tests.

Benn has since fought once, outpointing Regis Prograis in a catchweight bout in April, though he is expected to drop back down to his natural division of welterweight next, having traded middleweight wins with rival Chris Eubank Jr in 2025.

It is unclear whom the 29-year-old will face, although he has repeatedly targeted big names from the US. And now, Hearn has offered a potential explanation for that approach.

Speaking to various outlets, including Boxing News, Hearn said: “When Lewis Crocker won the world [IBF welterweight] title, I was like: ‘Oh, my God. Crocker vs Benn at the O2 [Arena] for the world title!’

“I went to Conor and he was like: ‘Nah, I don’t want that fight’. Then he eventually started talking about the [IBF’s 10lb] rehydration [policy] and all that kind of stuff.

“So, then I was like ‘Rolly Romero’. We had that fight done with [Romero’s manager] Luis DeCubas. Benn was like: ‘It’s not a very big fight.’ I’m like: ‘Mate, you’re getting a [WBA] world-title fight in London. I think you can beat Rolly Romero.’

“‘What about [IBF super-welterweight champion] Josh Kelly at the Stadium of Light?’ [Benn said:] ‘I ain’t fighting f***ing Josh Kelly.’

“I think he knows his limitations, so why would you get beat for small money when you can get beat for bigger money?”

The Independent has approached Benn for comment.

Prior to a points loss to Eubank Jr last April, Benn was unbeaten as a professional. He avenged that loss in November, as the pair returned to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, dropping Eubank Jr en route to a decision win.

Following Benn’s shock move to Zuffa, he was expected to be paired with a big-name opponent, given reports of Zuffa paying him $15m for one fight.

And while Prograis is a former world champion, he did not bring the profile that some fans expected, nor was he fighting at his natural weight or in his prime.

Furthermore, the American – who ventured up in weight to box Benn – carried an injury into his fight with the Briton, who outpointed the 37-year-old in Tottenham. Prograis then retired in the aftermath.