Ben Davison, Fabio Wardley's trainer, has explained his decision not to throw in the towel during his fighter's brutal loss to Daniel Dubois in Manchester. Dubois was crowned the new WBO heavyweight champion after stopping Wardley in the 11th round, having recovered from two knockdowns himself in what he described as a "modern-day classic."

In his social media posts, Davison confirmed Wardley was OK and addressed why he didn't halt the fight himself before referee Howard Foster stepped in. He wrote: "I actually agree the fight could have been stopped earlier." The trainer explained they were discussing having the towel ready when Wardley went to see the doctor at the start of round 10 and "seemed much steadier on his legs."

Davison acknowledged the difficulty of finding the right moment to stop a fight when the fighter remains responsive. He noted two occasions where they considered intervening but Wardley fired back and killed Dubois' momentum, making the decision even harder. "It's such a difficult job to strike at the right time to stop a fight like that on a whim when your guy is responsive and firing back," he wrote.

The trainer also praised Wardley's remarkable journey from "four white collar fights to heavyweight champion of the world," calling it a feat that has "never been done before, never be done again."