Fabio Wardley’s coach Ben Davison has explained why he did not throw in the towel during his boxer’s defeat to Daniel Dubois on Saturday in Manchester. Wardley was stopped in the 11th round after dropping Dubois twice early on, but the challenger recovered to win by stoppage, handing Wardley his first professional loss.
Davison’s Explanation
Davison addressed the decision on his Instagram story on Sunday. “Most importantly Fabio is Ok,” he wrote. “On last night - Firstly congrats to Dubois. 2 tremendous warriors in a modern day classic. We are super proud of Fabio.”
“I actually agree the fight could have been stopped earlier. I did not see Fabio stumble before walking over to the doctor at the start of round 10 as ironically we were discussing with each other to ‘have the towel in hand’, by which time he had gone over and seen the doctor and seemed much steadier on his legs which is what we saw.”
“It’s such a difficult job to not only find a balance but to strike at the right time to stop a fight like that at a whim when your guy is responsive and firing back.”
History of Decision-Making
Davison referenced his past experiences training Tyson Fury and Leigh Wood. “I’ve been praised for not towelling Fury [against Deontay Wilder]. I was praised for not towelling Wood [against Michael Conlan]. I was first criticised then later praised for towelling Wood [against Mauricio Lara].”
Under Davison’s guidance, Fury climbed off the canvas twice to draw with Wilder in 2018, while Wood knocked out Conlan in 2022 but lost to Lara in 2023 before winning their rematch.
Fight Details
Wardley dropped Dubois twice in the first three rounds, but Dubois gradually took control and stopped the WBO heavyweight champion in round 11. Wardley was checked by a ringside doctor and referee Howard Foster at the start of rounds nine and 10, with the fight allowed to continue each time.
Davison added: “2 occasions we looked at it, but 1. the end of the round came. 2. Fabio fired back and killed Dubois’ momentum. Again very difficult in the circumstances of the fighter being responsive and firing back. I’ve seen mixed opinions on this one but I agree it COULD have been stopped earlier. However with that said, I think Howard Foster got it bang on from his terms.”
Wardley’s Recent History
Wardley, 31, has a recent history of late stoppage wins. In 2025, he stopped Justis Huni in round 10 and Joseph Parker in round 11 while trailing in both bouts. His victory over Parker secured the WBO interim belt, which was upgraded in November after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title. Dubois, 28, became a two-time world champion with the win, having previously held the IBF title from 2024 to 2025 before losing it to Usyk last July.
