By JEFF POWELL MBE, SPORTS WRITER AND BOXING COLUMNIST
Published: 16:30 EST, 18 October 2026 | Updated: 16:30 EST, 18 October 2026
"Bring him on," roared Daniel Dubois when asked if he would like a third fight against the greatest boxer of his generation, the man who has beaten him twice and left lingering questions over his early championship credentials.
Oleksandr Usyk, currently existing in a state of professional limbo somewhere between vacating all the heavyweight titles and sliding toward semi-retirement, remains a tactical and technical genius. Because of this, the Ukrainian war hero may not fall readily into the trap baited on the banks of the River Thames in the dark hours of a Sunday morning following another explosive night of British boxing.
The legendary fighter from Ukraine will undoubtedly have watched Dubois annihilate the gallant Fabio Wardley in front of a stunned and ecstatic O2 Arena crowd. In doing so, Usyk would have recognized that "Dynamite" Daniel is no longer the callow, inexperienced youth he systematically wiped the canvas with during his own dominant reign as the undisputed world champion.
Promoter Frank Warren is rarely a man given to understatement, yet when he remarked that "Daniel has matured now," he was only scratching the surface of a profound psychological and physical transformation. It may still be a stretch to compare Dubois to the once terrifying, destructive force of Sonny Liston, but to those rival champions wearing the other belts he desperately needs if he is to capture the undisputed crown, the Londoner is starting to look every bit like a modern-day heavyweight monster.
"I want them all," declared the WBO champion, turning his sights immediately toward the future of the division.
His ambitions are vast and unyielding. He was referring explicitly to the lucrative winner of the upcoming December mega-fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua—a bout that carries significant championship leverage—as well as IBF and WBC titleholders Filip Hrgovic and Agit Kabayel. The eventual availability of these fighters, especially that of AJ or the Gypsy King, will undoubtedly be determined by the immense financial incentives flowing from the Aladdin’s Cave of wealth that Saudi Arabia has utilized to finance the welcome, unprecedented flux of heavyweight mega-fights in recent years.
If those financial alignments fall into place, Warren is promising a 2027 bursting at the seams with monthly heavyweight spectaculars, events that will be as lustily anticipated as Dubois’ second, breathtaking demolition of Wardley. That contest reached a rapid conclusion, leaving a packed O2 crowd to rapidly switch its collective allegiance. What began as a romantic public love affair with Wardley’s fairytale emergence from the ranks of white-collar boxing morphed into the realization that Great Britain officially has a world-beater firmly in the ascendancy.
Indeed, Dubois may be growing into far more of a commercial box office star than the notoriously monosyllabic Sonny Liston ever was. If his accurate, bravura prediction of a "bash and smash" slaughter of Wardley, combined with the most jovial and relaxed media conference of his career, are anything to go by, a charismatic new star has been born.
Having initially nursed his confidence within the protective cocoon of the Dubois family gym and inner circle, Daniel now operates out of a boxing mansion of his own, complete with elite training camps and the luxury sports cars to match his newfound status. The days of him playing the role of Mister Shy Guy are firmly in the rearview mirror, yet he remains remarkably down-to-earth and inherently likeable despite his terrifying power inside the ropes.
This total transition to full manhood and elite athletic maturity was rounded off over the course of his punishing two fights with Wardley. Their first encounter was an instant Fight Of The Year classic that tested Dubois’ resilience to the core, requiring him to recover from two early knockdowns before grinding out a brutal 11th-round stoppage victory.
Saturday night’s sequel, however, was a masterclass in swift, destructive efficiency. The onslaught was triggered almost immediately by a staggering right-hand blow delivered a mere 17 seconds after the opening bell, a shot that instantly imposed an eight-count against the ropes. It was followed quickly by an overwhelming technical knockout in the second round. Wham, bam, and thank you, man. There was no room for criticism this time around regarding any perceived delay in calling off the contest; in flew the white towel from the corner, and in jumped referee Steve Gray to wave it off decisively.
Naturally, there has been some lingering nagging at the very edges of Dubois’ magnificent triumph. Suggestions have surfaced from various quarters that Wardley was rushed back into the ring too soon following the severe second-half beating he endured in their first war back in May. Yet, if five-and-a-half months is not a sufficient period of time for a professional athlete to recover, exactly how long should it take? The immortal Joe Louis used to fight once a month, for heaven’s sake, and modern sports science offers recovery protocols that far exceed those of previous eras.
Wardley, ever the honest and courageous sportsman, took full responsibility and blamed himself entirely for the outcome. Having lived to fight another day, the brave challenger vows to rebuild, learn from the defeat, and eventually launch a successful comeback campaign aimed at securing another world title opportunity. Meanwhile, Dubois, who celebrated his 29th birthday just last month, is heading straight for the stratosphere as the undisputed champion of the next generation of heavyweight boxing.
Could he truly be the new monster of the prize-ring? History reminds us that it took The Greatest Of All Time, Muhammad Ali, to stop the formidable Liston beast dead in his awesome tracks. Might Usyk ultimately prove to be the Muhammad Ali in waiting for Dubois? It is entirely possible, though perhaps less certain now given that the Ukrainian legend is advancing in years. Regardless of the outcome, finding out the answer in a trilogy fight would be one of the most fascinating spectacles the sport could offer.
The simple tombstone on Sonny Liston’s grave in Las Vegas describes the troubled former champion with stark minimalism simply as A MAN. Frank Warren is entirely right in his assessment that Daniel Dubois has evolved into precisely that—a formidable fighting man ready to conquer the world.
