By: Sean Crose
He had no doubt taken some good shots. In fact he had gone down twice throughout the fight. Still after all he had been through Daniel DuBois was not going to call it quits. That more than anything else is why the man won the WBO world heavyweight title by besting Fabio Wardley within the distance earlier this year. It was an interesting, brutal affair which is why the public’s desire for a rematch made all the sense in the world. And now DuBois and Wardley are going to fight again this weekend at London’s O2 Arena.
“Feeling grounded and ready to go out there and do my job,” said DuBois (via Yahoo) on the eve of Saturday’s throwdown. “Another one. Get through this and do bigger and better things.” Dubois being a two-time world heavyweight champion may still come as a bit of a surprise to some. He was defeated twice by the legendary Olyksandr Usyk, after all, and had previously been bested by Joseph Joyce. Such things have a way of a marginalizing a boxer even a gutsy and talented one like DuBois. Yet DuBois kept going, which is likely what made all the difference.
Back in the ’80s when I was a kid there were star fighters and then they were very good fighters. You had your Michael Dokes, your Tony Tubbs, your Pnklon Thomas, terrific fighters all. It was the big names that shined brightly during that time however. Holmes, Tyson, Holyfield, those seem to be the fighters that really held the public’s attention. Usyk is a modern version of that fighter, as is Joshua, as is Tyson Funñry. Unfortunately for better or worse, Dubai even now that he’s a two-time titlist is still as far as the general public goes on the margins.
Make no mistake about it though, the Englishman clearly wants to change all that. He has some resume after all, he’s dropped Usyk, and stopped Anthony Joshua. Neither of those things were minor events. Should he win a second fight against Wardley, Dubois may well be finding himself edging into the spotlight – where at this point he might rightfully belong.
What people want to know at this point though is who will win Saturday in London? The first fight was a war, not just a war but a war of attrition. Dubois hit the mat twice only to slowly grind his man down, finally stopping the bloody Wardley in the 11th. The longer the fight went on the more of a slug fest it seemed to become. The fighters were too good to call the battle a slobbernocker but it really was an all out free for all.
Due to the thrilling nature of the first bout neither man really looked like a loser. And neither man is apt to look like a loser this weekend. It’s worth remembering though that the two fighters gave each other a pretty good beating the last time. Boxers, even the toughest of boxers, can only take so much damage. Some view the first fight as a classic. Fighters only have so many classics left in them though. Dubois however remains looking at the future. That’s understandable. The sport has certainly traded him well. And Saturday may prove to be the high point of his fairly illustrious career. Dubois wants his work to be wildly illustrious however. He wants it to be legendary. Then again there’s no doubt Wardley feels the same way. This weekend may well provide another collision of wills between two very determined opponents. Too bad that bouts like this from across the ocean are of no interest to a general fan base in North America.
