Queensberry's Triple Bill: Dubois vs Wardley 2 Leads Heavyweight Rematch
Queensberry Promotions have laid down their marker for the back end of the year, rolling out a three-show run that leans heavily on bad blood, redemption arcs, and one very serious heavyweight grudge.
At the top of the slate sits the WBO heavyweight title rematch between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley on Saturday, October 17, at the O2 Arena in London. Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson 2 follows on November 7 in Manchester for the interim WBC light heavyweight belt, before Anthony Cacace defends his WBA super featherweight crown against Nick Ball on December 19 in Belfast.
All three events will stream on DAZN, with Dubois vs Wardley 2 expected to land on pay-per-view or the Ultimate tier.
Dubois vs Wardley 2: unfinished business at heavyweight
They didn’t need much time to sell it.
Dubois (23-3, 22 KO) and Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KO) shared the ring again ahead of the Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic main event, and the moment they locked eyes, it was clear this rematch sells itself. Their first fight in May in Manchester was a savage, momentum-swinging war, Dubois finally breaking through with an 11th-round TKO to take the WBO belt.
Now they run it back in Dubois’ adopted fortress.
"It'll be another dominant victory and amazing performance. I can't wait. Yeah. Let's get it on," Dubois said, as matter-of-fact and cold as ever for a man who deals in knockouts.
He was pushed on whether he’d look to tidy up the mistakes from that brutal first meeting. He didn’t blink.
"When you get in the water, you're gonna get wet," he replied. "I love every bit of it. I can't wait for it."
Wardley, beaten but not broken in May, sounded like a man who has replayed every second of that night.
"The O2 is like a home away from home for me, so doing the fight back here will be special," he said. "I'm just looking forward to getting straight back into it. It's going to be a rematch, and it's going to be revenge.
"We came into that fight with all the confidence in the world, but adjustments need to be made. And I've proven time and time again — you look at (my fights) with Frazer (Clarke), the adjustments I made, or the Justis Huni performance into the Joseph Parker performance. I've proven I'm adaptable and I can change. That's what we need to do for this fight."
Dubois’ response cut through the noise.
"We'll see. Give me some of that face-to-face shit, boy."
He got it. The two heavyweights stepped in and stared each other down, a long, hard, silent glare that said more than any soundbite. No pushing, no chaos. Just two big men who know exactly what the other can do, and exactly what’s at stake.
This is the biggest of the three announced fights by some distance. A world title on the line, a rivalry already soaked in damage, and a champion who doesn’t seem remotely interested in playing it safe.
Buatsi vs Hutchinson 2: grudges and grudging respect
The light heavyweights don’t shout as loud, but their story runs just as deep.
Joshua Buatsi (20-1, 13 KO) and Willy Hutchinson (20-2, 14 KO) met in September 2024 in a fight that flew a little under the radar compared to the heavyweights, yet delivered a tense, tactical contest. Buatsi edged it by split decision, a result that didn’t spark outrage but did leave a sizeable chunk of observers feeling Hutchinson had done enough, even after being dropped twice and docked a point in the seventh.
Now the stakes rise. The rematch in Manchester will be for the interim WBC 175 lb title.
Buatsi didn’t bother pretending this was his dream fight.
"This is what was put in front of me. He said we were gonna run it back two years ago, so here we are, man," he said. "Something's at stake. If nothing was at stake, I wouldn't be here."
That honesty tells its own story: this is business, not romance. A belt, a ranking, a route to the top.
Hutchinson, by contrast, has been waiting for this.
"I'm very, very excited. This has took two years to get here, and now we're here again," he said. "I told him two years ago after the fight, 'I'm gonna get ya,' and now we're here. I'm gonna win. Simple."
No theatrics. No fake animosity. Just a challenger who believes he was hard done by and a winner who knows he has to prove it all over again, this time with a title attached.
Cacace vs Ball: Belfast turns up the volume
If pure atmosphere is your thing, the final act of Queensberry’s year might be the one to circle.
Anthony Cacace (25-1, 9 KO) defends the WBA 130 lb title he prised from Jazza Dickens on March 14, welcoming Nick Ball (23-1-1, 13 KO) up from featherweight on December 19 in Belfast.
Ball comes in with something to prove. He lost his WBA featherweight title in February, stopped in the 12th round by Brandon Figueroa in Liverpool. Now he chases redemption at a new weight, against a champion who doesn’t do hype but absolutely does violence.
"Nick's a great fighter, an ex-world champion, he's beaten them all. I expect a good scrap. He's a hard man. Let's do it," Cacace said, straight to the point.
For Ball, this is a reset and a gamble.
"It's a massive opportunity at a new weight," he said. "He's a solid champion, it's going to be a good fight."
No trash talk, no cheap shots. Just two hard, serious pros who know that Belfast on a winter night can turn a world title fight into something that feels much bigger.
On paper, it might be the most evenly poised of the three. In the arena, it might be the loudest.
Three months, three rematches or redemption missions, three very different tones. A heavyweight war with bad intentions, a light heavyweight sequel with a score to settle, and a Belfast cauldron waiting for a world title defence that could steal the show.
Queensberry have set the stage. Now it’s on the fighters to decide which of these nights we’ll still be talking about when the year is over.
