Queensberry Promotions Winter Schedule: Dubois vs Wardley Rematch

Queensberry Promotions have laid out their roadmap for the back end of the year, and it’s a bruiser’s run-in to Christmas: three main events in three months, with Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley leading the charge in a heavyweight rematch that promises more chaos than clarity.

The schedule starts with Dubois vs Wardley 2 for the WBO heavyweight title on Saturday, October 17 at the O2 Arena in London, moves to a light heavyweight return between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson on November 7 in Manchester, and closes with Anthony Cacace defending his WBA super featherweight belt against Nick Ball on December 19 in Belfast. All of it on DAZN, with Dubois–Wardley expected to sit on pay-per-view or the platform’s Ultimate tier.

Dubois vs Wardley 2: unfinished business at heavyweight

Dubois (23-3, 22 KO) and Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KO) came face to face again in the ring ahead of the Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic main event, with Frank Warren front and centre to confirm what everyone in the division already knew was coming: the rematch to their savage first meeting.

Back in May in Manchester, Dubois dragged Wardley into deep water and stopped him in the 11th round of a brutal, momentum-swinging war. It was the kind of fight that leaves scars and questions. Now they’re going to answer them at the O2.

Dubois kept his words short and sharp, in keeping with his punch selection.

“It’ll be another dominant victory and amazing performance. I can’t wait. Yeah. Let’s get it on,” he said, sounding more like a man clocking in for another night’s work than one about to walk into a firefight.

Asked whether he planned to iron out the mistakes from the first bout, he didn’t flinch at the idea that this could be another punishing night.

“When you get in the water, you’re gonna get wet,” he said. “I love every bit of it. I can’t wait for it.”

Wardley, who tasted both success and punishment in that first encounter, talked like a man coming home and hunting revenge.

“The O2 is like a home away from home for me, so doing the fight back here will be special,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to getting straight back into it. It’s going to be a rematch, and it’s going to be revenge.

“We came into that fight with all the confidence in the world, but adjustments need to be made. And I’ve proven time and time again — you look at (my fights) with Frazer (Clarke), the adjustments I made, or the Justis Huni performance into the Joseph Parker performance. I’ve proven I’m adaptable and I can change. That’s what we need to do for this fight.”

Dubois cut through the talk with a line that snapped the temperature up a notch.

“We’ll see. Give me some of that face-to-face shit, boy.”

They obliged. No shoves, no brawl, just a hard, lingering stare that said enough. The heavyweight division has seen plenty of manufactured animosity in recent years; this didn’t feel like that. It looked like two men who know exactly what the other can do, and still want more.

Buatsi vs Hutchinson 2: grudges and adjustments at 175

If Dubois–Wardley is the blockbuster, Buatsi vs Hutchinson 2 is the slow-burn thriller tucked just behind it.

Joshua Buatsi (20-1, 13 KO) and Willy Hutchinson (20-2, 14 KO) shared a close, competitive fight in September 2024, one Buatsi edged by split decision. It wasn’t a robbery, but the debate hasn’t really cooled: many felt Hutchinson had done enough, even after being dropped twice and docked a point in the seventh round.

Now they run it back with the interim WBC light heavyweight title on the line. That extra stake changes the picture, and Buatsi didn’t hide the fact that it’s the belt, not the rivalry, pulling him back in.

“This is what was put in front of me. He said we were gonna run it back two years ago, so here we are, man,” Buatsi said. “Something’s at stake. If nothing was at stake, I wouldn’t be here.”

Hutchinson, by contrast, sounded like a man who’s been replaying that first fight in his head for a long time.

“I’m very, very excited. This has took two years to get here, and now we’re here again,” he said. “I told him two years ago after the fight, ‘I’m gonna get ya,’ and now we’re here. I’m gonna win. Simple.”

The first meeting showed Buatsi’s power and grit, Hutchinson’s craft and resilience. Now the question hangs over Manchester: does Buatsi impose himself earlier, or does Hutchinson tidy up the mistakes that cost him and turn frustration into closure?

Cacace vs Ball: respect, risk and a Belfast cauldron

Anthony Cacace (25-1, 9 KO) will bring his WBA 130 lb title home to Belfast on December 19, defending the belt he ripped from Jazza Dickens on March 14. Across from him stands Nick Ball (23-1-1, 13 KO), stepping up from featherweight after losing his WBA title at 126 lb by 12th-round TKO to Brandon Figueroa on February 7 in Liverpool.

On paper, it might be the most evenly matched of the three. In reality, it might also be the loudest night of the lot.

Cacace kept it stripped back.

“Nick’s a great fighter, an ex-world champion, he’s beaten them all. I expect a good scrap. He’s a hard man. Let’s do it,” he said.

Ball matched the tone, no trash talk, just intent.

“It’s a massive opportunity at a new weight,” he said. “He’s a solid champion, it’s going to be a good fight.”

No theatrics, no staged hostility. Just two hardened pros, one defending his belt in a city that adores a fight, the other chasing redemption in a new division. Belfast will do the rest.

Queensberry’s winter run doesn’t just fill dates on a calendar; it sets up grudges, questions, and turning points. Dubois and Wardley trying to settle a score that still stings, Buatsi and Hutchinson arguing over fine margins with a title attached, Cacace and Ball walking into a Belfast roar.

By the time the lights go out on December 19, we’ll know who used this stretch to step forward—and who has to live with what these rematches and risks leave behind.