Carl Froch has offered a cautious assessment of a potential first title defence for newly crowned WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley, suggesting a fight with Daniel Dubois would carry serious risk.
Wardley secured his place at the top of the WBO rankings with an 11th-round stoppage of Joseph Parker in October 2025. Ahead of that bout, many questioned whether Wardley’s relative lack of top-level experience would be exposed, but the Ipswich fighter instead produced a breakthrough performance that announced him as a genuine force in the division.
With Oleksandr Usyk retaining the WBC, IBF and WBA titles while vacating the WBO belt, Wardley now finds himself weighing up his next move. Usyk’s decision to pursue a fight with Deontay Wilder has opened the door for alternative opponents, including the possibility of a domestic showdown with Dubois.
Dubois has not fought since his fifth-round stoppage loss to Usyk in July, but prior to that setback he had built momentum with emphatic wins over Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller. His reputation as a powerful finisher makes him an intriguing but dangerous option for any champion.
Speaking to Fightlens, Froch acknowledged that Wardley’s work rate could trouble Dubois, but stressed the risks involved. He warned that Dubois remains a heavy puncher for all 12 rounds and suggested that, despite Wardley’s qualities, it may be wiser to avoid such a matchup at this stage.
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