Wardley-Dubois: When Should The Fight Have Been Stopped?

It is a cliche to say and it is one that is indeed overused, but one truly never knows what is going to happen when two fighters get into a ring to do battle. Such anticipation before a fight is part of the appeal combat sports thrives on. When it came to the encounter between undefeated WBO World Heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley and former IBF World Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois on May 9th at the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester, England, that anticipation was present before a record crowd of over 18,000 spectators. Pitting two “Knockout Artists” each having a career knockout percentage of 95% against each other, however, indicated as close to a guarantee as one would find that this would be a fight that would not go the distance.

A perception seemed to be on point when the champion Wardley, who was making his first title defense, knocked Dubois down in the opening seconds of the fight with a right hand that grazed the top of his head and appeared initially to this observer to be Wardley’s forearm that connected on the follow through that sent Dubois down to the canvas. A sudden occurrence that gave the impression that this could be a short contest. To Dubois’ credit, however, he was able to pick himself up and it was not long before the shootout many had expected between the two began to manifest with both fighters landing hard, thudding punches with knockout intentions. As Dubois found his footing in the fight, there began to be a distinction between the two fighters.

Despite both men landing the type of blows that would end the night for most Heavyweights, it was Dubois landing the harder, more accurate punches, while the champion threw wide, looping shots that though many landed, were not accurate and seemed to knock Wardley off balance periodically. The distinction between the two fighters notwithstanding, Wardley would score a second knockdown of Dubois in round three by another right hand that landed high on the head and seemed to affect his equilibrium.

As he had done in round one, Dubois picked himself up off the canvas and the fight continued. While there was still a decent amount of back and forth action, gradually Dubois’ harder punches turned the tempo of the combat. Gradually Dubois began to administer a beating to the champion. By round eight of the scheduled twelve round world championship bout, I felt the accumulation of punishment to Wardley frankly warranted the fight being stopped.

Although traditionally an argument can be made that a world champion should be given the benefit of doubt in a scenario where they are the defending champion, and keeping in mind that Wardley showed his mettle and a lot of heart as he continued to take grotesque punishment, the likes of which, we are accustomed to seeing in movies, it got to a point where I stopped watching the fight as a competition and wondered aloud as to how much longer the fight would be permitted to continue.

As Dubois continued to dish out punishment, the effects of the beating emerged on Wardley’s trace in the form of a busted and bloody nose and significant swelling over both eyes. Despite this, Wardley remained ever brave and continued to frail wide looping punches that frequently knocked him off balance in the hope of landing a dramatic fight changing blow as he had done before later in fights prior to being named WBO World Heavyweight champion. On this night, it was not meant to be as Dubois continued to dish out punishment until mercifully Referee Howard Foster finally stopped in and stopped the fight in the eleventh round giving Daniel Dubois his second world championship. Although miraculously Dubois was not able to drop Wardley throughout the fight and did not knock him down prior to the fight being stopped, the stoppage was controversial.

It was controversial in the sense that it came later than should have been the case. While this fight exceeded every possible expectation, many would suggest that it should have been stopped sooner. Now a few days removed from the fight taking place, the obvious question is why was the fight allowed to go on as long as it was?

There are three aspects that all played a role here and some might say, share equal responsibility for how things turned out. Firstly, Referee Howard Foster. 

Referee Howard Foster has long been one of the top referees and judges throughout the United Kingdom having been the referee in nearly 1600 professional fights, many having been world championship contests. Foster, however, has not been immune from controversy throughout his twenty-nine year career as a referee. Some may recall the first fight between future Hall of Famers Carl Froch and George Groves in 2013 where many felt Foster stopped the fight in favor of Froch in the ninth round prematurely. 

While the element of controversy is something that unfortunately comes with the territory for any referee or judge as some calls by a referee will seem unjustified, much in the same way as a judge’s scorecard, particularly in close fights, will always be open to interpretation and scrutiny, in this case even as Foster’s shirt began to display the stains of Wardley’s blood and it became more evident that Wardley would not be able to land something to turn things around, Foster allowed the fight to go further than should have been the case.

By its very nature, however, a referee making a decision to stop a fight is a judgement call and open to human error. Having said that, what other parties outside of Foster could have stepped in? Some may point the finger of criticism in the direction of Wardley's corner.

Wardley's trainer Ben Davison had to of seen the amount of punishment his fighter was taking, same as other members of Wardley's corner. The first line of defense in terms of protecting a fighter is their corner. One can only assume that much like how a referee, more often than not, gives a champion the benefit of doubt or to put it another way, a longer leash than would normally be the case, one can assume that in this case, Wardley's corner felt their fighter still had a puncher’s chance to turn things around. Though I disagree with that assessment, at minimum, there will be a period where Davison will have to answer the criticism as to why he didn't stop it. This finally brings us to the third party that could have stepped in. The British Boxing Board of Control.

As the regulatory board overseeing the fight, the British Boxing Board of Control has long had a reputation as being one of the strictest and stringent regulatory boards in the world. In this case some may question whether they had the authority to step in and stop the fight as it would be overriding the referee they appointed with that responsibility and even the ringside physician, who is often consulted before fights are stopped.

Although very rare to see a commission overrule a referee or doctor, there have been some instances where it has happened. Most notably the 2007 bout between the late Arturo Gatti and Alfonso Gomez. Gatti, in what proved to be the final fight of his career, took a horrible beating at the hands of Gomez for seven rounds before crumbling to the canvas under significant punishment. The referee former Heavyweight contender Randy Neumann, a highly competent and respected referee in his own right in the northeast of the United States was not the man who made the call to stop the fight, nor was it Gatti’s corner or the ringside physician, but it was Larry Hazard, then chairman of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, who stepped up on the apron of the ring and stepped through the ropes to ensure the fight was stopped as Gatti fell to the canvas. While Gatti-Gomez was a more one-sided contest than this fight was with an aging fighter at the end of his career, it does serve as an example nearly twenty years later that sometimes the commission overseeing a fight will exercise their authority to ensure a fight is stopped when for whatever reason, those who are appointed with the responsibility do not.

The controversy aside, the fight was stopped and Fabio Wardley will be back. In terms of what happens, given that Wardley as the champion coming into this bout has a rematch clause, it seems logical that this was the conclusion of chapter one of a longer story between Wardley and Dubois. When that rematch occurs obviously remains to be seen, but both fighters Dubois and Wardley deserve time to recuperate before a rematch is discussed. Even though Wardley came out the more battered of the two, both fighters took a lot of punishment and need time to let their bodies heal. After all, whenever that rematch happens, it is likely to be a similar back and forth battle as this fight was. Outside of the controversy of when the fight should have been stopped, it was one of the best World Heavyweight championship bouts in recent memory,

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

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There Was Only One: Remembering Ricky Hatton

The Boxing world was hit with a significant blow on Sunday, September 14th when it was revealed that former two-division world champion and Hall of Famer Ricky Hatton had passed away at the age of 46. For those who followed the Jr. Welterweight and Welterweight divisions in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was hard to not notice and like a fighter like Ricky Hatton.

A fighter with an aggressive, yet tactical style with an emphasis on applying constant pressure and often overwhelming his opponents with volume punching, it did not take long for Hatton to not only make a name for himself, but also develop a fan following that was truly unique. In an era that predated the advent of global digital streaming that we all enjoy today, this observer first became aware of Hatton thanks to the now defunct ShoBox: The New Generation Boxing series that was a cornerstone of United States premium cable network Showtime for many years before the network opted to exit the sport and shutter its sports division at the end of 2023. 

It was on the ShoBox series, which was developed to be and quickly became a proving ground for prospects on the rise, however, that Hatton was able to make his presence known to American Boxing fans. It was during this period, which was around the same time as the legendary trilogy of fights between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, that Hatton impressed me as having a similar style as those legends, a come forward fighter that did not take a backwards step and was more than willing to walk through whatever an opponent was able to dish out. After watching his fight against Eamonn Magee in 2002, my first time seeing Hatton in action, a fight that he won in an eighth round stoppage, I immediately began dreaming up a scenario where Hatton would potentially face either Ward or Gatti seeing as not only all three having similar styles, but also all three coincidentally being in the same 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division. As mouth watering as those potential fights were, unfortunately they were not to be as Ward retired after the conclusion of the three fights with Gatti, and Gatti though going onto win a world title in the division chose to go in a different direction in the final years of his career rather than face a fighter like Hatton.

Hatton would prove to be the fighter that would become the central figure of the Jr. Welterweight division a few years later. It was on June 4, 2005 before a sold out crowd at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, England, Hatton’s hometown, where the unbeaten star, who was viewed as an underdog, forced the legendary longtime Jr. Welterweight world champion Kostya Tszyu into quitting on his stool prior to the twelfth and final round of a grueling back and forth battle, which were the type of fights that Hatton specialized in. 

As one who covered that fight for a now defunct outlet twenty years ago, I remember how those I spoke about the fight with did not view it with much interest, primarily with regard to the casual sports fan here in the United States. From my perspective, as great a fighter as Kostya Tszyu had proven to be throughout his career, he was at a point going into that fight where both injuries and inactivity seemed to be catching up with him and I openly questioned whether or not at that stage, he could physically deal with a younger, more aggressive fighter who set a non-stop pace. It would be that pace that broke the great champion down not just into retiring on his stool, but retiring from the sport as well. What I will always remember about that fight other than how classy Tszyu was in defeat was essentially passing the torch to Hatton as the number one fighter in the Jr. Welterweight division, but the eruption of the crowd in attendance when the fight was stopped in what was an emotional scene as Hatton, who won the IBF and Ring Magazine World Jr. Welterweight titles from Tszyu, celebrated his triumph with his corner and his family who were sitting ringside. It truly gave one an appreciation for the atmosphere that can be felt in combat sports and remains one of my favorite fights that I have covered in my 30 years writing about combat sports with Boxing as my primary sport.

The atmosphere that made a Ricky Hatton fight unique was not just the energy in knowing that regardless of who he was fighting, it would likely be fan-friendly, but Hatton’s following, which would eventually follow him here to the United States in the thousands for his fights here, would often include a band that would play and chant “There's Only One Ricky Hatton!" not just before a fight,but during the entire pre-fight build up, during the undercard bouts and finally during his bout. A uniqueness that I cannot recall seeing before I began covering Hatton’s fights or since. Perhaps what drew fans in beyond an entertaining crowd pleasing style was Hatton, was also one of the most classy individuals in the entire sport and the friendly demeanor he had along with that class was very endearing and in my view, a throwback to many of the great fighters of previous eras in the way he represented the sport.

Despite a lengthy reign atop the Jr. Welterweight division in which he fought and defeated several of the top fighters of his era, Hatton will be remembered by some for being on the losing end of two fights in which he came up against the best pound for pound fighters of his era in Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, despite being stopped by both, it did not diminish a Hall of Fame career where he also went on to win a world title in the Welterweight division as well. 

It would be those losses, however, that would send Hatton into a three year retirement in which he struggled with his mental health. A subject that in addition to other struggles he faced outside the ring, he spoke openly about.In what would prove to be his final fight in November 2012, Hatton put forth a valiant effort in losing via stoppage to former Welterweight world champion Vyacheslav Senchenko, bringing an illustrious career to a close having only lost three of forty-eight professional fights with thirty-two knockouts registering a career knockout percentage of over 71%.

Earlier this year when I was informed that Hatton would be looking to get in the ring one more time, I was naturally curious, but at the same time not surprised because there have been many fighters that have reentered the sport in recent years, and, despite how long it had been since he last competed, I was nonetheless intrigued, as I was always appreciative of that relentless pressure style, that had an emphasis on both attacking an opponent's body as well as volume punching. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. As disappointing as the prospect of a comeback that will not happen might be for some fans, the loss of not only a great fighter and champion, but also a man who was a credit to a sport that needs to be represented well hurts even more.

I join the rest of the Boxing community in mourning the loss of Ricky “Hitman" Hatton. There truly was only one. God bless you.

“And That's The Boxing Truth." 

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