LONDON, Oct 17 - Daniel Dubois retained his WBO heavyweight title with a one-sided and devastating second-round stoppage of fellow Briton Fabio Wardley in their rematch on Saturday.

The champion made a storming start at London's O2 Arena and Wardley's legs went from under him for a count within 17 seconds of the opening bell.

Wardley could have been stopped at the end of the first round when he took a further pounding but was saved by the bell. There was no escape from the brutal onslaught in the second and the towel was duly thrown in.

Dubois dealt Wardley his first defeat as a professional when he came back from two knockdowns, the first after 16 seconds, to take the title in a thunderous and bloody clash in Manchester last May.

Wardley had been promoted to WBO champion last November after Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title. REUTERS