Fabio Wardley showed tremendous courage as he fought into the 11th round in Manchester last night, until referee Howard Foster intervened to halt his heavyweight title showdown with Daniel Dubois.
The main event lived up to its huge anticipation, with Wardley—bruised and swollen by the end—sending Dubois to the canvas twice early on, but ultimately being overwhelmed by a determined and punishing opponent.
After the bout, many observers, including analysts, fans, and fellow fighters, argued that the defending champion from Ipswich should have been pulled out by his corner due to the sustained punishment, pointing to the moment at the start of the 10th round when he appeared extremely unsteady on his feet.
In response to the criticism on Instagram, Wardley’s co-trainer Ben Davison offered a frank assessment, admitting he “actually agrees” that the fight could have been stopped earlier.
“On last night… firstly congrats to Dubois. Two tremendous warriors in a modern day classic. We are super proud of Fabio.
“I actually agree the fight could have been stopped earlier. I did not see Fabio stumble before walking over to the doctor at the start of round 10 as ironically we were discussing with each other to ‘have the towel in hand,’ by which time he had gone over and seen the doctor and seemed much steadier on his legs, which is what we saw.
“It’s such a difficult job to not only find a balance but to strike at the right time to stop a fight like that on a whim when your guy is responsive and firing back.
“I’ve been praised for not towelling Tyson Fury (Deontay Wilder), I was praised for not towelling Leigh Wood (Michael Conlan). I was firstly criticised then later praised for towelling Wood (Mauricio Lara).”
Davison went on to confess that he and the team—which also includes Wardley’s long-time coach Rob Hodgins and Lee Wylie—considered pulling Wardley out on two occasions but were quickly persuaded otherwise.
“On [two] occasions we looked at it but 1. The end of the round came 2. Fabio fired back and killed Dubois’s momentum. Again very difficult in the circumstances of the fighter being responsive and firing back.
“I’ve seen mixed opinions on this one but I agree it COULD [have] been stopped earlier. However with that said, I think Howard Foster got it bang on from his terms.”
Davison also revealed that his fighter is ‘ok’ after receiving stitches and undergoing checks in the hospital.
