Fabio Wardley’s bid to regain the WBO heavyweight title lasted less than six minutes as Daniel Dubois (24-3, 23 KOs) dropped him early and battered him into a second-round stoppage.

Wardley’s corner threw in the towel, with referee Steve Gray ending the rematch at 2:21 of round two on Saturday at London’s O2 Arena.

Wardley (20-2-1) never recovered from the opening knockdown. A jab followed by a right hand sent him down inside 15 seconds, immediately wrecking his hopes of settling into the fight.

He got up, but his legs betrayed how badly he had been hurt. Dubois kept landing heavy punches, forcing Wardley to spend much of the round trying to survive rather than building any offense.

Ben Davison’s corner had the towel ready during that opening round. They held off, giving Wardley the chance to reach the bell and recover on his stool. Unfortunately for the challenger, the interval did not restore his ability to handle Dubois’ attacks.

Wardley tried to fight back in the second, swinging in search of something that might change the contest. Dubois remained composed and continued finding openings against an opponent whose balance and defense had already been compromised.

Another jab-right hand combination landed, with the right catching Wardley cleanly on the chin. When Wardley missed a big punch, Dubois answered with a barrage that brought the towel.

The warning signs had been there from the first knockdown. Wardley’s willingness to keep fighting was clear, but he could not stop Dubois from hitting him, and his corner ultimately spared him further punishment.

Their first meeting in May had been a grueling fight in which Wardley dropped Dubois twice before losing in the eleventh. The rematch offered none of that uncertainty.

Dubois took control with his first major attack and kept it. Wardley needed time to recover and room to rebuild; the champion gave him neither.

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