Moses Itauma is confident that Fabio Wardley’s first defense of the WBO heavyweight world title against Daniel Dubois will not go beyond six rounds.
Wardley and Dubois step into the ring tonight in Manchester, each boasting a 95% knockout-to-win ratio. Most in the boxing community expect one of those records to become even more impressive, as few anticipate the bout going to the judges’ scorecards.
Itauma, who is on the verge of being announced as the mandatory challenger for the victor, shares this prediction. The 21-year-old Brit expects to fight for a world title this year, and whether that opportunity comes via the WBO could hinge on tonight’s outcome. He trains under the same coach as Wardley but would not hesitate to face Dubois if the latter emerges victorious.
Having observed Wardley closely in the gym, Itauma believes his stablemate will retain the belt before the contest reaches its midpoint. “I’ll probably go for Fabio Wardley quite early – rounds four to six,” he stated.
Fourteen of Wardley’s 19 knockouts have come within the first four rounds, though most occurred earlier in his career against lower-tier opposition. In his last two fights against Justis Huni and Joseph Parker, the Ipswich champion went later into the bout, stopping Huni in the 10th and Parker in the 11th.
The key question for many, and what makes this heavyweight clash so compelling, is whether Wardley can withstand the punches that Huni and Parker landed against a proven knockout artist like Dubois, who has 16 stoppages in the opening four rounds.
