Whenever Fabio Wardley’s nose started to disappear it was probably a sign that Saturday night’s fight with Daniel Dubois in Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena should be stopped. Eventually, in round 11, what was becoming a one-sided beating, interspersed with moments of stubborn resistance, ended with Wardley swaying along the ropes like a beaten up drunk on the cobbles.

You could suggest that Wardley’s bravery was unmatched, given that he fought much of the second half of the fight with a face resembling a butcher’s slab. However, his corner team, led by “Boxercise” Ben Davison, combined with the referee, Howard Foster, and two ringside doctors (called twice to the ropes to perform safety checks) were all pretty brave too for letting the spectacle carry on for as long as it did.

Much of that leniency stemmed from the fact that even though Fabio was teetering and tumbling (at one point he almost tripped back to the corner as the round ended) he managed to continue punching back, thus keeping both Dubois and the ringside decision makers at a suitable distance.

Wardley’s team expected Dubois to wilt under pressure

During the undercard, as the main event clock ticked ever closer, DAZN caught up with Fabio Wardley’s manager Michael Ofo who had become something of a familiar face during the build-up and again on fight night. During the week Ofo verbally sparred with the insufferable Sam Jones, now representing Daniel Dubois.

On fight night Michael was busy revisiting the generally accepted wisdom that when the going gets tough for Dubois he quits. First mentally, then physically.

Putting aside the moments of adversity against Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, that suggestion has been proven in the past. But Ofo omitted one small detail: Dubois often checks out when he’s being dominated, outboxed and is unable to land his own power punches. When there’s a target to be hit and he is still capable of hitting it he tends to keep the faith and carry on bombing.

When it comes to hittable targets, Wardley has never resembled Pernell Whitaker. The lack of amateur experience and rise through the unregulated ranks of ‘White Collar’ boxing, a rogue scene where street tough guys and office managers seeking physical stimulation exchange aggression, has been used as a stick to beat a fighter who found himself outboxed at times yet never outgunned.

It had never seemed to hold Fabio back. Until Saturday evening. Suddenly his glaring lack of proper fundamentals bit him hard. Having been knocked down twice early on (in the first and third rounds), Dubois received a few slaps from coach Don Charles and suddenly he was tighter, retaining his shape and pumping out a jab that found Wardley’s face as promptly as a pound coin to a magnet.

Dubois’ pedigree saw him take over the fight

Wardley, meanwhile, was swinging for the hills, trying to find the same right hands that had cuffed Daniel around the temple, leaving him recalibrating the senses while referee Foster doled out a count. As the bout rolled on, and Wardley’s face bled more and his right eye closed up, Dubois was no longer present when the overhand right swung out.

This resulted in Wardley missing, stumbling off balance and often into the arms of ‘DDD’ who dutifully clubbed away with an elbow, head, thumb and any other body part he could get in before the surprisingly tolerant Foster split them.

Perhaps stung by previous criticisms of his propensity to jump in and stop a man from taking a beating, Foster proceeded to let Wardley take a beating. What could the Ipswich man do differently? What did Coach Davison and his team of analytic minds have up their collective sleeves to turn things around?

Aside from an uppercut that appeared around the eighth (with some success it must be said), not a whole lot. Wardley was fighting on instinct. Dubois was breaking him down with his traditional boxing pedigree.

“Are you not entertained? What a fight, what a warrior, thank you!” roared Dubois, reigniting his catchphrase from the AJ knockout in 2023.

We were entertained, greatly. A modern classic as some have suggested? Probably not. More like some wild excitement on a Saturday evening in front of a record crowd. Strip away the emotion and remove the insane levels of commitment from Wardley and it was a quality boxing display from Dubois once he rediscovered his balance and established a rhythm. Dubois also remained calm during the post-fight interview, the slither of a smile creeping cross his often-confused face.

This was long after Wardley’s own face had begun to display the scars of battle and his nose started to disappear. It all happened at a critical point in a contest that he had threatened to boss within the first third.

Should Fabio Wardley have been pulled out earlier than the 11th?

As the war wounds added up, the crowd gasped and groaned. Promoter Frank Warren’s shoulder started twitching more than usual as the discomfort grew. While MC Thomas Treiber announced the official particulars, Fabio Wardley managed a faint smile as he applauded the victor. Soon after, he exited the ring to lick his considerable injuries and start a rebuilding process that will include some facial reconstruction. Warren reckons there’s a rematch clause.

Could Fab do anything differently if they decide to run it back? When the dust settles, nose realigns, cuts heal and realisation of a first career defeat kicks in, the 31-year-old will know he did the best he could with the tools he had at his disposal. A loss is a loss, but this one took a lot out of the loser. Wardley may never be the same fighter again.

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