Dubois vs. Wardley 2 Start Time, Full Fight Card Details!

WBO Heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois, face off against Fabio Wardley later TODAY (Sat., Oct. 17, 2026) inside O2 Arena in London, England, in what is guaranteed to be another hard hitting championship bout which hopefully mirrors their eoic first fight. Indeed, the two men went to war earlier this year in Manchester, England, which saw Dubois knockout Wardley in the eleventh round (highlights here).

In the co-main event at 135 pounds — which will stream on DAZN PPV — Loui O’Doherty (12-0) will face off against Michael Gomez Jr. (23-2), while Bakhodir Jalolov (17-0) will face off against Solomon Dacres (10-1) in what is sure-to-be another hard-hitting Heavyweight battle.

What’s Hot:

Daniel Dubois defeated Fabio Wardley in electric fashion earlier this year to grab the WBO Heavyweight title in what was one of the best boxing fights of 2026 — which is saying something because we had some great ones. It was a great bounce-back performance from Dubois after getting knocked out for the second time in his previous fight by Oleksandr Usyk. The first encounter was nothing short of an epic Heavyweight thriller. Wardley came out firing from the opening bell and dropped Dubois twice in the early rounds, putting him in serious trouble. But Dubois weathered the storm, began landing his own damaging shots, and slowly but surely started to break Wardley down before the referee stopped the fight in Round 11 to earn the TKO win. Dubois is riding high on confidence, and rightfully so, but he also knows he can not go into the rematch overconfident because he was, after all, dropped in the opening frame.

Wardley will likely try to make a statement early again, but the chances of him catching Dubois like he did the first time could be slim since he knows what to expect. That said, if he catches Dubois cleanly again, the champion could be forced into survival mode once more and this time around Wardely isn’t going to let him off the hook. On that note, Wardley can not get reckless, he needs to stay disciplined, work the body, utilize his jab and combination to soften the champ up a bit. If he can control the pace while reducing Dubois’ opportunities to land a fight-changing right hand, Wardley has a shot. The first fight obviously showed that Dubois could sustain his offense deep into the contest after getting rocked. Both men have the power to end the contest before the scorecards matter, which is what the likely outcome will be.

How The Undercard Looks:

Loui O’Doherty (12-0) vs. Michael Gomez Jr. (23-2)

Unbeaten lightweight champion, O’Doherty, will go up against an opponent who has considerably more professional rounds under his belt as Gomez Jr. has 25 professional fights to his 12. O’Doherty enters this matchup with plenty of momentum after winning the British title and then the Commonwealth belt. Gomez Jr., however, has also been building momentum, making this a meaningful step-up rather than just a layup routine defense. Gomez Jr.‘s experience makes him a dangerous challenger, but O’Doherty’s unbeaten run and recent title success give him the edge in this title fight.

Bakhodir Jalolov (17-0) vs. Solomon Dacres (10-1)

Jalolov won Olympic gold in both Tokyo (2020) and Paris (2024) and has established an unbeaten professional record of 17-0 with 15 knockouts. Dacres, meanwhile, is a former English Heavyweight champion who has experience and recently bounced back from his stoppage loss to David Adeleye with a win over Vladyslav Sirenko. He only has three knockouts on his resume, but he is still a dangerous striker. Jalolov’s has the size and technical advantage here, but Dacres has enough experience to make it competitive.

Tony Curtis (14-1) vs. Kerim Agius (6-1-2)

Curtis comes in with a significant experience advantage, having boxed 15 professional contests compared with only nine for Agius. On that note, Agius has two draws on his record which suggests that he can make fights competitive and he can easily be 9-1. At 115 pounds, speed, accuracy and combination punching is the name of the game and the fighter who establishes the pace and lands the cleaner punches early may have the advantage here.

Nelson Birchall (5-0) vs. Levi Giles (17-3-1)

This is a classic prospect development fight. Birchall has won all five of his professional bouts, while Giles brings a much larger number of contests with a recorded 21 pro fights. Giles’ record indicates that winning consistently is his forte, and his experience may makes him awkward and very hard to deal with. Birchall only has five fights to his credit.

135 lbs.: Fawas Aborode (2-0) vs. Rashid Omar (8-9)

Aborode is still in the early stages of his professional career, and this fight offers an opportunity to learn against an opponent who has considerably more experience. Omar’s losing record doesn’t tell the whole story; he has boxed far more professional rounds and may be comfortable dealing with young prospects. The question is whether Aborode can turn his early-career promise into a convincing performance against someone who knows how to navigate the professional game.

Aaron Noriega (1-0) vs. Leonard Baez (5-21)

Noriega has only one professional contest on his record, while Baez has fought 26 times. That experience gap is substantial, even though Baez has 21 defeats. This fight could reveal a lot about Noriega’s development. Can he stay disciplined against someone who has seen a broad range of styles, or will Baez use his experience to make the young prospect uncomfortable? This fight seems like a mismatch on paper, but crazier things have happened in this sport.

Zayn Ahmed (3-0) vs. Kasey Bradnum (1-49)

Ahmed enters with an unbeaten record and the opportunity to add another win to his professional résumé. Bradnum’s record shows a very different career, but a fighter with so many contests has considerable experience in the ring — even if he does have 49 losses. For Ahmed, he needs to show that he can box effectively, follow a game plan and sustain his work without making mistakes. Ahmed is the logical pick based on his unbeaten start and the records provided. This fight is screaming layup for Ahmed.

Issiah Hamilton-Allen (2-0) vs. Jensen Irving (6-40-1)

Hamilton-Allen is attempting to continue his unbeaten start at middleweight against an opponent with a long professional record — albeit it a losing. On that note, Irving has considerably more experience, although his record suggests that consistent victories have been difficult to achieve. Hamilton-Allen should focus on boxing intelligently rather than treating this as an opportunity to force a spectacular finish against a man he is expected to beat. The unbeaten prospect is my pick, but Irving’s professional experience should not be dismissed. I expect Hamilton-Allen to have the better of the exchanges if he boxes patiently.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Manny Safari (0-0) vs. Jake Pollard (1-119-1)

This is a particularly unusual matchup to say the least. Safari is making his professional debut, while Pollard’s listed record is one that is hard to fathom since he has 119 losses. Yes, you read that correctly. Although Pollard has only one recorded win, his extensive ring time means that he has encountered a wide variety of opponents and styles, though the outcome has rarely been in his favor. For a debuting fighter, that experience can present challenges even against an opponent with a heavily losing record that puts Bob Sapp’s to shame.

Interest Level: 7/10

This Heavyweight title fight has all the making of another war. The two men both have statements to make for different reasons, so they will come out hungry and fired up to prove something to the masses. Whether or not it lives up to the same electricity and thunder as the first one remains to be seen, but if I were a betting man, I would put some coin that it will be another classic. While the undercard isn’t exactly stacked, it should still serve as a decent appetizer before the main course.

Enjoy the fights!

Heavyweight: Daniel Dubois (23-3) vs. Fabio Wardley (20-2-1) for WBO’s Heavyweight title

135 lbs.: Loui O’Doherty (12-0) vs. Michael Gomez Jr. (23-2)
Heavyweight: Bakhodir Jalolov (17-0) vs. Solomon Dacres (10-1)
Heavyweight: Dan Garber (14-9) vs. Adam Olaniyan (4-0)
115 lbs.: Tony Curtis (14-1) vs. Kerim Agius (6-1-2)
126 lbs.: Nelson Birchall (5-0) vs. Levi Giles (17-3)
135 lbs.: Fawas Aborode (2-0) vs. Rashid Omar (8-9)
126 lbs.: Manny Safari (0-0) vs. Jake Pollard (1-119-1)
130 lbs.: Aaron Noriega (1-0) vs. Leonard Baez (21-7)
130 lbs.: Zayn Ahmed (3-0) vs. Kasey Bradnum (1-49)
160 lbs.: Issiah Hamilton-Allen (2-0) vs. Jensen Irving (6-40-1)