Dillian Whyte has offered his thoughts on Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois, predicting a mid-late rounds stoppage where the winner is compelled to “take a lot of punishment”.

Their heavyweight contest will take place at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on May 9, with Wardley making the first defence of his WBO world title.

The 31-year-old was upgraded from ‘interim’ to full champion after Oleksandr Usyk, who still holds the WBC, IBF and WBA titles, decided to vacate his WBO strap.

This occurred following Wardley’s stunning 11th-round finish over Joseph Parker last October, when he cemented himself as the leading contender for Usyk.

Rather than facing the formidable Ukrainian in an undisputed showdown, though, the Ipswich man is gearing up to headline a Queensberry card against former world champion Dubois.

Having not fought since his fifth-round stoppage defeat to Usyk last July, Dubois is eager to prove that he remains a world-class operator, capable of ending any fight with his destructive fists.

The 28-year-old has previously showcased his power in consecutive stoppages over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, but must now face a hard-hitting champion who boasts the same 95% knockout-to-win ratio.

Speaking with IFL TV, former world title challenger Dillian Whyte, who is also Wardley’s manager, declared that his man should be the last one standing.

“Mid-late [rounds], Fabio will stop him. Fabio’s going to have to take a lot of punishment, though.

“It’ll be a tough fight early. But I ain’t got no problem [seeing] Fabio coming through and knocking him out.

“Fabio likes to get hit. I always say, ‘Bro, stop getting hit early. You don’t need to. You’re very athletic and very fast and very awkward’. But he likes to trade off early.”

Indeed, Wardley has shown tremendous grit to overcome torrid battles with the likes of Frazer Clarke, Justis Huni and Parker, always fighting fire with fire whenever he seems in a spot of bother.