Fabio Wardley has exercised his rematch clause immediately against Daniel Dubois after his dramatic stoppage defeat last week.
Wardley surrendered his WBO heavyweight title at the first time of asking in Manchester last Saturday, with ‘DDD’ producing a remarkable comeback to beat him by 11th-round stoppage.
Ipswich-born Wardley, 31, was defending his belt for the first time having claimed it off Joseph Parker in his most recent outing.
He knocked Dubois down inside 10 seconds of the first bell, and then once more in the third round in a disastrous start for the challenger, who was fighting for the first time since his fifth-round stoppage by Oleksandr Usyk in July last year.
Dubois rallied, however, and became a two-time heavyweight champion at the Co-Op Live Arena after producing some scintillating combinations to bloody the nose of the challenger and position himself back at the top of the heavyweight division.
Wardley’s team felt aggrieved after the contest that the referee had allowed Dubois to get away with illegal punches to the back of the head, and now Wardley will likely get the chance to avenge his loss after indicating his desire for a rematch.
“The boxing world knows my character, and Saturday night proved that without a shred of doubt,” Wardley told Sky Sports.
"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."
The fight will go down as one of the best all-British encounters, with Queensberry promoter Frank Warren deeming the bout "the best heavyweight fight I have ever put on", and confirmed that there was a mandatory rematch clause that the loser could invoke.
It remains to be seen when the pair will face off in the ring again, but it is likely that that will happen before the calendar year is out.
