As everybody else in the room tried to pick through the wreckage of an explosive night at Manchester's sold-out Co-op Live Arena, the new WBO heavyweight champion cut a quiet but happy figure.

He occasionally inspected his scarred right knuckle but otherwise there was absolutely no clue that he had just been involved in one of the most dramatic heavyweight fights of recent times.

“I think we were both in that sort of weary state, you know? It was just a war. We both gave each other everything we had and yeah, I had to pull out a bit more,” Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) said with a tonne of understatement.

“Thank God for for a great fight. Thank Fabio for being an absolute warrior. I thank God, what a fight, what a warrior he is. I came through that, came through that test. Coming off the back of a loss I was a bit nervy to start off with and a bit all over the place but I pulled it together and got the victory.”

Dubois' relaxed demeanour was a total contrast to the tense air he projected throughout the build-up. These days, fight weeks can be a chore for even the most amiable of fighters.

They are obliged to answer the same question hundreds of times, taking part in games and trends as every camera crew searches for their own viral moment. Some - like Wardley - are relaxed and good-natured enough to humor every request. Dubois always spends fight week with his fists balled.

That no-nonsense attitude attracted criticism and - let’s be honest - scorn from people who seemingly have no idea how to speak to or handle a fighter as a fight approaches. Afterwards, every bit of tension had left Dubois' shoulders and the 28-year-old Londoner sat with a happy, relaxed look about him.

Yes, he is a two-time heavyweight champion but after surviving knockdowns in the first and third rounds and prevailing in such a violent shootout, he has also forever silenced those who continually questioned his heart and resilience following his pair of stoppage defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and earlier career loss by Joe Joyce.

“It was needed. I needed to get whacked and come back up,” he said.

“I felt like a warrior in there, just digging deep and coming back. I wasn't going to be denied. I had my dad and my people in my corner and couldn't let him down. I want to congratulate Fabio for a great fight."

Dubois is now a heavyweight champion for the second time and can expect to rise from his current fifth position in The Ring divisional rankings in next week's update. Where that takes him next is open to speculation.

The only definite conclusion to draw is that he is extremely unlikely to get a third fight with The Ring and unified world champion Usyk. Outside of that, Dubois against anybody else in the heavyweight top ten will now be must-see television.

Considering what Dubois had just been through, his promoter Frank Warren rightly refused to be drawn on naming potential opponents and declared that he will let the coming months play out before deciding on their next move.

"You’re going to sit back and have a rest first,” Warren said. “There’s a lot of things happening in the heavyweight division over the next few months so we'll see.

"He's a two-time world champion and what a way to win a title back. Unbelievable.

"For me as a promoter and being involved in this business, it’s my 49th year coming up and it was humbling to watch these two guys and what they were doing. It was just amazing. It's just an amazing spectacle, the crowd, the atmosphere, everything about it was just great. Boxing ain't broke. I keep telling you it's flying."