Daniel Dubois is set to lose almost half of his fight purse to tax after his brutal second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley at The O2. The WBO world heavyweight champion retained his title in a fight-of-the-year rematch that ended with 39 seconds left in the round, as referee Steve Gray waved off the contest at the same time Wardley's trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel.
Tax and National Insurance deductions
Dubois is believed to have earned between £2m and £2.5m from the bout. Under UK tax laws, anyone earning over £125,140 annually is subject to the highest tax rate of 45 per cent, meaning he will pay just over £928,000 in tax from a £2m purse, or £1.15m from a £2.5m fee.
He will also have to pay a further two per cent in National Insurance, shaving between £32,000 and £42,000 off his fight fee. Despite the deductions, Dubois is looking ahead to bigger challenges in the heavyweight division.
Next opponents and Wardley's response
Dubois could next face the winner of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua or IBF champion Filip Hrgovic, who was at the fight and confronted Dubois in the ring afterwards. Hrgovic is a likely opponent at some point next year.
Asked who he could face next, Dubois said: "Whoever is next in line, really. I'm the champion now and I want to get some big fights in. At this stage in my career, I want big money, big fights."
He added: "Fabio is a great boy coming in for the second time, but it was my time and it's my era. I had bad intentions from the beginning. This is God's victory. We've done well. My back was against the wall for the first fight and this time we just had to go out there and show that we mean business, which is what we did."
Wardley's defeat and no excuses
Wardley barely threw a shot and spent the 5 minutes 21 seconds the fight lasted in survival mode, having never recovered from the brutal right hand that floored him in the opening exchanges. It was reminiscent of the later rounds of their first clash in May when a blood-soaked Wardley was stopped in the 11th.
Some were surprised that Wardley had immediately activated the rematch clause given the punishment he took, but the Ipswich puncher denied that the battering five months ago was a factor behind the second defeat of his career. He said: "No, not in the slightest. I just came in and didn't execute the game plan properly. I hold my hands up to that, that is entirely down to me."
He added: "When I step through the ropes, it is only myself. It's only me bouncing down in the ring. There's no blame to be passed around. When I win, it's all me as well. There's no shame in losing to a great competitor like Daniel."
