Daniel Dubois Favored Over Fabio Wardley in O2 Arena Rematch Saturday

Dubois Looks to Finish What He Started Against Wardley

Daniel Dubois defends the WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London, a rematch of their May fight in which Wardley dropped Dubois in the first and third rounds before Dubois rallied for an 11th-round technical knockout to become a two-time heavyweight champion. Dubois was a plus-100 underdog heading into that fight, but he enters the rematch as the strong favorite and sits at No. 3 in ESPN's heavyweight rankings.

Former super middleweight champion George Groves told Sky Sports that he considered the first fight "almost Dubois's fight to lose," saying Dubois "has got crazy power," and pointed to Wardley's nose, which broke open last time, as a liability that makes him "unravel a bit once that nose goes." Wardley told reporters at the London launch press conference that he got "trigger-happy" chasing the finish instead of staying composed after his early success. Dubois called Wardley a "dead man walking" and promised to "take him out in style this time."

Tony Bellew continues to argue that Dubois has a breaking point, telling Fight Your Corner that "when Daniel's not having success, he's got a line," a claim Dubois's trainer Don Charles flatly disputes. Bellew has also warned Dubois away from a future fight with WBC champion Agit Kabayel, calling him "a proper nightmare" who is "a brilliant body puncher" that gets up off the floor, and said David Benavidez would not stop any current heavyweight but "he's going to outwork an awful lot of them."

Boxing Loses Argentine Champion Jorge Castro at 59

Former Argentine champion Jorge Castro has died at 59. Castro went 1-1 with Roberto Duran in 1997 and challenged for cruiserweight titles against Juan Carlos Gomez and Vassiliy Jirov, losing both.

The WBC noted his huge heart outside the ring, highlighting how he dedicated much of his post-retirement life to community work and supporting soup kitchens for those in need.

WBC Lets Carlos Adames Gamble Middleweight Title in Non-Title Bout

The WBC has approved Carlos Adames's request to fight above 160 pounds on November 17 against an opponent who has not yet been named. The bout is not for his middleweight title, but if Adames loses, the title will be declared vacant outright, meaning his mandatory challenger, Meiirim Nursultanov, would not get a chance to win it from him.

Win or lose, Adames must then face Nursultanov next, and the winner of that fight must face interim champion Jesus Ramos. Adames, who is 25-1-1, recently signed with Zuffa Boxing, and the arrangement gives him room to explore options at higher weights. The WBC is set to review his mandatory obligations at its convention in Acapulco, Mexico, from November 8 to 13.

Fury-Joshua Undercard Matchmaking Draws Criticism

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will meet December 11 at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, but the floated undercard is already facing pushback. Fury's manager, Spencer Brown, told Ariel Helwani that getting the main event made was very hard, with four or five different stadiums and dates under consideration and even an argument over who went first on the poster, which he said Netflix decided without the camps' input.

Boxing247 has criticized floated undercard pairings including Manny Pacquiao against Joe Cordina, noting Pacquiao turns 48 less than a week after the event, and Bam Rodriguez against Christian Medina, arguing it will frustrate fans eager for a Naoya Inoue showdown.

Fundora Defends Title Against Hadribeaj in Las Vegas

Sebastian Fundora puts his WBC light middleweight title on the line Saturday in Las Vegas against undefeated challenger Ermal Hadribeaj, who earned early-career comparisons to Vasiliy Lomachenko and is nicknamed "the Albanian Sniper." Hadribeaj told Boxing247, "One thing for sure that I know: win or no win, I know for sure that I'm going to land."

Landing clean on Fundora has rarely been the problem for his challengers; surviving the volume he throws back has been. Fundora said plainly, "I'm planning on doing what I do and get this guy out of here."

Goyat to Face Pettis in Landmark Indian Boxing Card

Neeraj Goyat will face former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis on January 23 in a six-round bout at 154 pounds, in what promoters describe as the biggest card in Indian boxing history. Goyat is 21-4 with two draws, and the host city remains to be chosen among Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Chennai.

Goyat told reporters, "This time the card is ours," after years of fighting abroad as a supporting attraction on other promoters' cards.

Lopez Threatens Court Fight Over WBA Mandatory Order

Teofimo Lopez won the WBA welterweight title with a majority decision over Rolando Romero in August, becoming a three-division champion. The WBA has ordered him to defend against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall, but Lopez wants Ryan Garcia and the WBC belt instead and is reportedly prepared to appeal the order in court.

Catterall has refused step-aside money to allow a unification bout, saying, "There's not $1 that can persuade me to step aside to allow a unification bout."

Dana White Discusses Zuffa Boxing's Mission

Dana White gave a wide-ranging interview about building Zuffa Boxing, which is backed by Turki Alalshikh and modeled on the UFC he has run since 2001, aiming to push back against what he sees as corruption and self-interest in boxing. White sits on the board of Meta, and Zuffa and the UFC both fall under TKO Group, led by Ari Emanuel, Mark Shapiro and Nick Khan. He was walking alongside President Trump at the UFC's Freedom 250 event at the White House on June 14.

White said stand-up comedy is the only thing that really took him out of his comfort zone, describing a set at the Laugh Factory with jokes written by Tony Hinchcliffe that left his body "messed up for four days after that." The Ring reports that Zuffa Boxing has signed middleweight champion Carlos Adames to a multi-fight deal.