Latest fight updates and undercard results

It’s time… here’s part of my preview. The “Don’t Blink” tag is not marketing hyperbole; it is a warning. With a combined knockout ratio that suggests the judges will have a very quiet night, this Wardley-Dubois fight is likely to be decided by who lands first and who can absorb the inevitable storm.

It remains a classic encounter between a disciplined, heavy-hitting contender in Dubois and an ultra-confident, opportunistic champion in Wardley with “destructiveness” at the core of both game plans.  

Dubois will need to prove he has moved past his previous emotional shortcomings. His power remains his trump card, but his ability to box behind the jab, as instructed by Charles, who has affirmed to The Telegraph that his charge “has all the skills and boxing ability above his opponent that should give us the win”. That belief, and those skills, will be the key to whether DDD is victorious – or not.

Meanwhile, Wardley the champion thrives on doubt. He will look to draw Dubois into a brawl early, in my opinion, testing his chin and his composure. If Wardley can force an early exchange, we could see a very short night. 

My prediction for this fight is that it could be won by the fighter who remains most tactical in the first four rounds. Expect a frantic, explosive start, but should the fight pass the halfway mark, it will become a battle of the experience of Dubois’ high-level world title fights and maintaining his fortitude versus Wardley’s ability to stay in the fight and find the equaliser at any point as the rounds wear on. I might suggest it will not go twelve rounds, but anything could happen in this fight.

For Dubois, the stakes could not be higher. A win makes him a two-time world champion at 28—a feat that would silence the critics, validate his team’s unorthodox methods, and put him right back in the conversation for undisputed honours. A loss, however, would be catastrophic, a signal that his “Dynamite” has lost its fuse.