Daniel Dubois beat Fabio Wardley to become a two-time heavyweight boxing world champion, and the defeated fighter had to reassure his mother, Shonni-leigh, that he was OK afterwards
Fabio Wardley insisted that he was OK after his defeat to Daniel Dubois
Fabio Wardley reassured his mother, Shonni-leigh, at ringside that he was OK after a bruising defeat to Daniel Dubois. The referee, Howard Foster, stopped their fight 28 seconds into the 11th round with Wardley unable to defend himself anymore.
Wardley, 31, was still standing at the time and was not knocked down by Dubois during the brutal bout. However, his right eye was swollen shut, compromising his vision, and the bridge of his nose was bleeding heavily, affecting his breathing.
After the stoppage, Wardley fell to the canvas. However, that was due to exhaustion and relief that the beating ended.
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Once back upright, the dethroned champion sought out his mother, Shonni-leigh, at ringside. While leaning over the ropes, Wardley repeatedly reassured her that he was OK before sitting down in his corner.
British Boxing Board of Control doctors inspected his injuries three times in the ring, but on each occasion let the fight continue. The consensus is that Wardley lost the last several rounds after his early success.
He dropped Dubois twice in the opening three rounds to take a commanding lead with two 10-8 rounds. However, they were arguably the only ones Wardley won as his opponent dominated thereafter.
As a result, he appeared significantly down on the scorecards, prompting several observers to call for a stop to the fight multiple rounds before referee Foster eventually intervened. One fan told the BBC that it was a “disgrace”.
They claimed to have “never been so uncomfortable watching a boxing match, and concluded that it was “awful to watch”. Another fan added: “We’re used to being entertained, but that was brutal.”
One more accused Foster of “terrible refereeing,” saying that the fight “should have been stopped earlier.” Someone else agreed, saying: “That was stopped a bit late and was getting unpleasant.”
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His mother, however, has never been one to avoid attending his fights. Wardley told DAZN in October last year: “She has always been my biggest fan.
“It’s a funny one, when you speak about your mum about boxing or combat sports in general, it can be very brutal. She’s never been the one to hide behind her hands, not watch or not watch what’s going on.
“She has always been loud at the front of the crowd, on her feet, cheering, shouting, basically trying to get in the ring herself, if she could. She’s been my biggest supporter in that sense.”
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