Barely a week removed from his damaging 11th-round stoppage loss to Dubois, the Ipswich puncher acknowledged that it was 'a fight for the ages' but equally he made some mistakes that will not be repeated a second time around.

He told Sky Sports: "The boxing world knows my character, and Saturday night proved that without a shred of doubt. It was a fight for the ages, but I made some mistakes that I will rectify in the rematch. Congratulations to Daniel, but I'm coming for you... and my belt!"

Although he went to hospital for precautionary reasons last weekend, Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) is now recovering from the facial injuries suffered in the bout.

His trainer Ben Davison agreed their fight could've been stopped sooner, given the 31-year-old was shipping punishment and firing back sporadically, as his chances of victory diminished the longer their firefight continued.

Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren described their clash as the best heavyweight fight he'd ever put on, as it got instant acclaim for Fight of the Year honors. Wardley scored two knockdowns in the first three rounds, before Dubois' heavy jab and solid fundamentals helped him take over, aided by passionate head trainer Don Charles.

Dubois outlanded Wardley in every round besides the first, connected on 48.3% of his power punches (87-of-180) and had almost double the defending champion's total output (179-to-97) per CompuBox before referee Howard Foster waved the contest 28 seconds into the penultimate frame.

Queensberry have since confirmed Sky Sports' report on social media, stating 'all parties will now work towards a rematch for later in 2026', with Dubois previously slated to return in November. The 28-year-old's first defense comes against a familiar foe, but one eager to make amends and silence critics after a wild night in Manchester.

Wardley is The Ring's No. 4-rated heavyweight contender for unified champion Oleksandr Usyk's title, while Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) moved up to top spot in the rankings update trailing the Ukrainian, who scored stoppage victories over him in August 2023 and July 2025.

Usyk will defend his Ring and unified titles against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23, after which time the WBC will call a mandated defense against overdue challenger and current interim beltholder Agit Kabayel.