After Saturday’s heavyweight classic, one of the key talking points has been whether Fabio Wardley’s corner should have pulled their man out sooner, and former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew has shared his view on the matter.
Wardley was defending his WBO heavyweight title against Daniel Dubois, but despite scoring two early knockdowns, from round seven onwards, it soon became clear that the champion was fading.
With a fit and firing Dubois stood opposite him, the once back-and-forth battle slowly became one-sided, and after two checks from the doctor and the onslaught continuing, referee Howard Foster eventually intervened in round 11.
Whilst many viewers questioned whether trainer Ben Davison should have saved Wardley from needless punishment, Bellew has defended the trainer whilst talking on the Fight Your Corner podcast.
“I am not like many others, I don’t think that it should have been stopped earlier. I think that the referee did a brilliant job. I don’t think that the towel should have been in earlier, for the simple reason that Fabio Wardley has shown, on numerous occasions now, to never rule him out of a fight.
“Even when he is miles behind, even when he has been hurt in a fight, he can pull it out of the bag at any moment and for that alone, that is why he should have been allowed to continue.
“This is the reason why the likes of Arturo Gatti were allowed to continue against the likes of Micky Ward. When his neck is against the ropes and he is being hit consistently in the face and Frank Cappuccino [referee] lets it go on, it is because of the history that he has. That is why they let that fight continue and they were right to, in my opinion.”
“You are never going to get them truly magical fights, unless you let carnage unfold.”
Following a precautionary check at a nearby hospital, it was confirmed that Wardley suffered no major injuries in the bout. The Ipswich fan-favourite could now trigger his rematch clause and attempt to avenge the first defeat of his professional career to become a two-time heavyweight ruler.
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