Wardley (20-1-1, 19KO) heads to the O2 Arena looking for revenge against the man who inflicted his first career defeat and took his title in an all-time classic fight in May.

And Rob Hodgins, who's coached Wardley since he first stepped into a boxing gym as a white collar hopeful, believes the 31-year-old will put right the wrongs of the first fight - which saw him stopped on his feet in the 11th round, having dropped Dubois twice early on.

Hodgins has coached Wardley for his whole career (Image: Mark Robinson)

"He’s confident as ever, he’s always been confident," Hodgins said of his heavy-handed charge.

"No-one likes losing, whatever sport you do. He always trains hard and he’s always in great shape – but I think that determination to get back what belongs to him is there.

"He’s got that little bit about him. It’s not a case of him training harder or being more determined, but he does have that bit of needle about him.

"It’s his first loss and he wants to avenge it."

Dubois (23-3, 22KO) is the favourite this time around, and has been confidently predicting a much easier night, suggesting he'll stop Wardley inside four rounds.

"Daniel is talking very confidently, and rightly so," Hodgins conceded. "He’s been in with the best boxers in the world, (Oleksandr) Usyk twice, (Filip) Hrgovic, (Jarrell) Miller – and he came out on top against those last two.

"He’s a confidence fighter and I don’t think he’s taking Fab lightly. He has the right to be confident that he’s going to do a better job this time."

Hodgins says Wardley is adept at making changes and learning from his mistakes (Image: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry)

Regardless of the champion's confidence, Hodgins believes Wardley will do what's required to get revenge - just as he did following his dramatic British title draw with Olympian Frazer Clarke back in 2024.

After a brutal back-and-forth first fight, Wardley wiped Clarke out inside a round in the rematch, proving he can adapt and overcome.

"I think the fight will go a lot more in Fab’s favour this time," Hodgins insisted.

"As you saw with the Frazer Clarke fights, Fab made a lot of mistakes in that first fight, and he rectified that in the second.

"He’s very good at knowing what he does wrong, he’s a student of the game and he studies where he’s done things wrong.

"He will rectify those mistakes and obviously I’m backing him to win back the belt and bring it back to Ipswich.

"I think a knockout win or a points win – by any means necessary, he comes back with that belt."