Barry McGuigan believes Fabio Wardley's punishing first defeat to Daniel Dubois will prove costly, making Saturday's rematch at The O2 a fight Dubois has all to lose.
Wardley's punishment a concern
McGuigan admires Wardley, calling him intelligent, tough and a one-off, and notes how far he has come from his white collar roots. However, he cannot see Wardley coming back from the punishment he took in the first fight with Dubois.
He suggests it would have been better had the fight ended in three or four rounds, as sustained beatings have a psychological and physiological effect. While Wardley talks a good fight and claims he will be more considered early on, McGuigan's experience tells him defeats like that come at a cost, especially against a heavy-handed puncher like Dubois.
Wear and tear at heavyweight
McGuigan stresses that wear and tear is real in the professional game, especially at heavyweight. Four of Wardley's past five fights—against Frazer Clarke, Justis Huni, Joseph Parker and Dubois—have been incredibly taxing.
He argues boxers are not Formula One cars, and Wardley must use the same engine every fight. For that reason, he expects the fight to unfold the same way but end earlier, with Dubois possibly on his backside again, though he doubts Wardley can bring the same intensity.
Dubois' risk and recovery
McGuigan notes Dubois went down twice in the first fight but was not badly hurt, describing the knockdowns as flash knockdowns. He acknowledges Dubois is vulnerable and gets dropped, making the early rounds Wardley's window, but Wardley cannot make the same mistakes.
Dubois knows where the danger lies, as all his hard work rebuilding his career could go up in smoke in the first nine minutes. McGuigan defends Dubois against questions about his courage, saying he knows him from his time in the gym, and that it was always about experience and learning to adjust in a crisis. Dubois proved his mettle by rising from the deck in the first and third rounds of their first meeting.
Jab as a weapon
McGuigan advises Dubois to take hold of the fight early, getting his ram-rod jab going from the first bell with hands high, and not getting involved. He rates the jab as better than Sonny Liston's and on a par with George Foreman's, noting that while the right hand gets attention, the jab does the damage.
The atmosphere at The O2 will be electric, with Wardley the underdog's underdog. But McGuigan sees it ending in Dubois' favour around the eighth or ninth round.
