Fabio Wardley has been advised to retire immediately after his brutal defeat by Daniel Dubois. Wardley was badly beaten by his heavyweight rival in their rematch on Saturday night as Dubois retained his world title.
Wardley was knocked down inside the opening seconds before being stopped in the next round. The Ipswich man had risen from white-collar fighter to world champion but now faces an uncertain future.
Hrgovic calls for retirement
World champion Filip Hrgovic reckons he should hang up his gloves. "I think [Wardley] should retire," he said. "He didn't look good. He made a bunch of money, he did a miracle, and he became a world champion … [but] he should retire and enjoy [life]."
Hrgovic, who lost to Dubois two years ago, added: "I think Wardley was still damaged from the first fight. He didn’t look good from the first bell. I wasn’t impressed with him. I’m the future undisputed champion. I will smash Dubois in a rematch and I’m coming for the belts."
Wardley vows to come back
Wardley, however, appears unlikely to take his rival's advice. He said: "Preparation, for me, wasn't ideal and Daniel learned the most from the first fight and came out with a better game plan. That's all it was. I lost. It is what it is. Daniel is a testament to losing, coming back, and winning the world title for a second time. And I'll be looking to do the same thing."
Dubois had lost his title to Oleksandr Usyk before bouncing back to beat Wardley in May, and said: "I know who I am, and I refuse to give up. The warrior's mentality is always to come back. Try again. Try harder. Whether he does that, we'll see."
Unification fights on the horizon
Dubois' promoter Frank Warren, meanwhile, added: "It looks like unification fights. We're going to find out who is the best, who's going to fight for the four belts. That's what we're working towards, that's what they all want. They want big fights, these guys, they want to earn big money. And you can only do that with making the best fight the best. Best fights the best, and we find out who is the best."
