The British heavyweights will meet at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. The fight will be streamed on DAZN's Ultimate subscription.

Between them, The Ring’s No. 1-ranked heavyweight, Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) and No. 4 ranked Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) have a 95 percent knockout ratio. Both men are outstanding athletes and natural finishers who accelerate into their attacks when they sense they have their opponent in trouble.

The similarities don’t end there. Both fighters have been hit, hurt and outboxed.

Where they do differ is in the ways they have dealt with moments of crisis.

Wardley has had his will and desire tested time and time again during his incredible rise from the nightclubs and working men’s clubs of white collar boxing and has yet to find his breaking point.

The first sign of his heart and determination came during his November 2022 fight with Nathan Gorman. Wardley had his nose badly broken in the early stages of the vacant British title fight but rather than allowing the injury to affect his approach, he grabbed the fight by the scruff of the neck and stopped Gorman in the third round. In October 2024 he gave away years of amateur pedigree and experience to Frazer Clarke but managed to drag the 2020 Olympic bronze medallist into an all out brawl. The fight was ruled a draw and Wardley won the rematch by first-round knockout.

Heart and courage are crucial parts of any fighter’s make up but they will only take them so far and, last year, Wardley proved that he also has the ability and power to be successful at world level.

In June, he struggled to pin down the clever Justis Huni but refused to give up hope and found a stunning right hand in the tenth round to render the judges’ scorecards irrelevant. In October, he followed that up by stopping former WBO champion, Joseph Parker, in the 11th round of a brutal back-and-forth war to win the WBO interim title.

Soon afterwards, Oleksandr Usyk vacated his WBO title and Wardley was upgraded to full champion.

The 31-year-old from Ipswich has had to learn on the job but, time and time again, he has found a path through his troubles and returned as a better fighter .

If Wardley came to the sport relatively late in life, Dubois, 28, was born and bred to be a heavyweight champion.

The Londoner is blessed with an outstanding jab, good footwork and a devastating right hand but has long battled to shed the accusation that when things start to get away from him, he lacks the resilience of a true heavyweight great.

It is six years since the pain and worry of a broken eye socket became too much and he knelt down and accepted defeat during the 10th round of his fight with Joe Joyce. If that was decision was understandable, the way he came apart during his 2023 challenge for Usyk’s unified heavyweight title was more alarming.

Dubois regrouped brilliantly to become the IBF champion but those old demons appeared to resurface during his July 2025 rematch with the brilliant Ukrainian. Dubois fought without any real belief or conviction and was stopped in the fifth round of their undisputed heavyweight title fight.

Stirring victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua proved that if Dubois can land punches and see a way to victory, he is capable of pushing through difficult moments but Wardley will have full confidence that if the fight comes down to a battle of wills, he will come out on top.

Of course, both men possess the type of firepower to end the fight at any given moment and it is that unpredictable, combustible mix of power and vulnerability that make this one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year.

The Ring’s Mike Coppinger and Max Kellerman have made their predictions. Think you can beat them? Predict winners for prizes.

Fabio Wardley: “That is the contrast between us; If it is not going his way, he nose dives and if it is not going my way, I stay the course, stay focused on track and I think that is evidence of the difference in our mentality.”

Daniel Dubois: “He’s been lucky up until now. Now he needs to take his L. He hasn’t faced a fighter like me but full credit to him though. He’s come through everything that’s been put in front of him. It’s my time now. I’ve been through what I needed to. Been beat up, scars and all that. I’m experienced and ready to go.”

Wardley is a very slight favourite to retain his title. He is priced at 4/5 (-125) . Dubois is an even money shot to become two-time heavyweight champion.

Bookmakers are offering odds of around 22/1 (+2200) for either man to end matters within the first three minutes.

The potentially explosive main event is supported by a long, high quality undercard with a number of eye-catching all-British match-ups.

Style wise, the most exciting fight could be the welterweight showdown between Jack Rafferty (26-0-1, 17 KOs) and Ekow Essuman (22-0, 8 KOs).

Rafferty has only recently bolstered Britain’s already packed welterweight division. The former English junior welterweight champion will make his 147 pound debut against the tough, determined Essuman.

The Ring’s No. 5 light heavyweight, David Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs), will stay busy against English champion, Zak Chelli (16-3-1, 8 KOs), following the late cancellation of his WBO interim title fight with Callum Smith.

Elsewhere, undefeated heavyweight prospect, Bakhodir Jalolov (16-0, 14 KOs) makes his latest appearance. The Uzbek will fight Croatia’s Agrom Smakici (21-3, 19 KOs).

The Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

"Don’t Blink" will be streamed live on DAZN. Coverage gets underway at 4.40pm BST/11.40am ET on the Queensberry and DAZN YouTube channels.

The pay-per-view portion of the show starts at 6.30pm BST/1.30pm ET and is priced at £24.99/$59.99, or you can sign up to DAZN's Ultimate subscription for £24.99/$44.99-a-month.