One curiosity: the Dubois ramrod jab, which basically won him the first contest, was barely a factor tonight. He didn't need it. Once he unleashed that right hand on to Wardley's chin after 17 seconds, it was the beginning of the end.

As for victor? Dubois did not put a fist wrong. After hurting Wardley inside 30 seconds, he did not let him off the hook but was also – relatively – patient.

Dubois is such a sensational offensive fighter. It's not just the raw power, he puts his combinations together superbly. He was unstoppable tonight, just as he was in demolishing Joshua in 2024.

"Wardley looked damaged from the first fight," reckons the former world champion Carl Frampton on Dazn. "The punches that were hitting him early in the first fight weren't doing him as much damage, as compared to this – his legs … he was hurt eight or nine times in four and a half minutes."

What can we learn from that four and a half minutes of breathless brutality? Well, perhaps Fabio Wardley did take this rematch too quickly – only five months after all the damage he courageously he shipped in May.

Ben Davison, his trainer, was accused of being slow with the towel in Manchester – but he wasn't tonight. He thought about it in round one, then called it in round two.

Filip Hrgovic is in the ring, the Croatian heavyweight who upset the gifted British prospect Moses Itauma for the IBF belt last time out.

Dubois beat him two years ago and a rematch between the pair is talked up. Filip, you are a braver man than I am. (Obviously.)

Frank Warren praises Fabio Wardley's heart and courage – and he's right.

"It's never fun to lose – but it is what it is, it's the name of the game," says the defeated Wardley. "I've always taken on the biggest challenges … I tried to adjust some things but it didn't work tonight. Boxing is a game of fine margins. I didn't touch down, so there's a little bit of pride in that."

Despite the absolute shellacking he took – hurt after 17 seconds and he never really recovered – Wardley did not end up sprawled on the canvas. However I think maybe a knee touched down when he was caught by that cracking right hand in round one.

"I had bad intentions from the beginning," says Daniel Dubois, echoing one Iron Mike with his words as he did with his fists.

"Our back was against the wall last time – this time we had to go out and show we mean business from the start."

So much happened in less than two rounds there but it was all one-way traffic. Dubois pounced on Wardley from the start, hurt him and then was a patient predator – stalking his rival and opening up with hooks and power punches every time Fabio offered any resistance.

The man they call 'Dynamite' lives up to his nickname.

Absolutely brutal. Daniel Dubois does a peak Mike Tyson job on Fabio Wardley with a five-minute demolition. Wardley's corner threw the towel in with their man shipping punches in the corner.

Wardley is trying to find Dubois with an uppercut – but he probably shouldn't. Every time he does he gets crunched by hooks and power punches by Dubois… he has Wardley trapped in the corner. And…

That's Wardley's first official career knockdown. He does not look on steady feet as he comes out for the second round.

Wow! Dubois returns the favour from fight one – he piles on to Wardley from the start, the referee decides only the ropes are keeping Fabio up and he takes a standing count.

Dubois in on the hunt. He's crashing in jabs and hooks. Wardley is wobbling all over the shop! He barely makes it out of round one!

Guardian's unofficial score: Dubois 10-8 Wardley (Dubois 10-8 Wardley)

– Dubois and Wardley step the centre of the ring. And Wardley is given a standing count inside 30 seconds!

Both heavyweights get a pretty even selection of cheers as they are introduced – the crowd likely just want to see another action-packed contest. Will they get it? We're about to find out.

– he takes no time at all! Well, he wasn't milking the moment. MC Thomas Treiber starts the intros – the first bell is only minutes away.

Fabio Wardley makes his way to the ring. "95% KO's" reads a giant screen sign behind him, which may be statistically accurate, but we need to knock out that rogue apostrophe please.

Wardley is stone faced, all business. He raises a fist to the crowd and – despite being in enemy territory – gets a rousing reception as he steps through the ropes.

Sweet Caroline is being bellowed by the O2. "I think it's going to be chaos from the first bell," predicts Carl Frampton.

That first bell is imminent.

"Don't Luke back in anger?" honks Colin Livingstone in response to my gag about Noel Gallagher and the world's premier dartist being sat next to one another at ringside. Yes Colin!

At ringside, amongst the young and old hacks, the general consensus is that Dubois should win again tonight … but I've also heard a few people of decent repute say that they have a gut feeling that Wardley might just shock us and force an early stoppage.

It's not long to go now and the arena is completely full. But it's been strangely quiet so far – and even when Dubois and Wardley have appeared on the big screen there has been little reaction.

But if the rematch can replicate some of the drama and intensity we experienced in Manchester five months ago the atmosphere will be very different to its current lukewarm hum.

Ouch. Michael Gomez Jr roars with delight as the final bell tolls – Louie O'Doherty looks downcast. But the judges have it to Gomez Jr by 115-114, followed by two scores of 114-114.

O'Doherty keeps his British and Commonwealth lightweight titles and Gomez Jr shakes his head in anger. He feels robbed of victory. The Mancunian certainly started like a steam train, O'Doherty battled back in the second half. But he may well be a lucky boy to get the majority draw.

Daniel Dubois prowls his dressing room, thumping his trainer in the body protector. Fabio Wardley is shown firing blows at the pads. Both look ready.

We're into the 12th and final round of O'Doherty v Gomez Jr, where the latter looks set to pull off a minor upset.

and ready for the main event. "Little by Littler," as Oasis almost sang. Does that work as a joke? Answers on a postcard.

Comedian Rob Beckett is ringside and says he wants "a proper humdinger" in the main event. Don't we all?

Rob is getting a high-octane scrap here as O'Doherty tries to battle back against a rampant Gomez Jr – he's battling his way back into this lightweight bouts, but is he fighting Gomez Jr's fight? Possibly. We're into the ninth round of 12.

Fabio Wardley looks cool as a cucumber as he speaks from his changing room. "I'm eager to get into the ring, eager to show off all the things we've been working on in the ring – eager to get my belt back," he says, eagerly.

"There's no pressure to do it early, late or whenever … a problem with the first fight is I tried to force the situation. I'll just let it flow and come naturally."

Dubois is an understandable pre-fight favourite tonight. But a word of warning: despite what Anthony Joshua might tell you, 'Triple D' does start slowly sometimes – almost like he needs to be clumped before he wakes up and starts boxing.

As was the case in May, Wardley will be aware of that and only too happy to supply the early clump if needed.

Meanwhile on the undercard: Gomez Jr has likely swept the first four rounds as he pushes forward with a relentless attack to body in head. O'Doherty began to return fire in the fifth. Good fight!

The final undercard bout has begun: undefeated Louie O'Doherty defending his British and Commonwealth lightweight titles against Michael Gomez Jr.

An all-action start from Manchester's Gomez Jr in the opening rounds! Reminiscent of his dad, who always brought the heat.

It was surreal watching the referee refuse to accept the white towel flung into the ring to save Dan Garber from shipping further punishment against Adam Olaniyan, the promising young Irish heavyweight. Garber is 41 and it was bizarre to watch Amy Pu shake her head and kick the towel away. The next time the old heavyweight went down his corner pleaded with him not to get back up and Pu finally waved it off. It seems pretty obvious that a referee should always listen to a trainer who wants to protect a clearly beaten fighter.

Luke Littler, meanwhile, has just turned up and lingered awhile next to our row of press seats close to the ring. I've interviewed Luke before and he is not the easiest interviewee in the world and so, like all my other respectful colleagues, we left him in peace and didn't ask for his Dubois-Wardley prediction.

The O2 is about 80% full – but it's apparently sold out and should be jumping around 10.30pm or so when the big men walk to the ring.

"We're going to see a special fight again," predicts promoter Frank Warren, who was hardly going to say anything else. "The styles themselves will blend – and it's got some spice to it."

Fabio Wardley is getting his hands wrapped in the changing room. He spoke this week about using "a chisel instead of a sledgehammer" in terms of adjusting his approach – tweaking his first fight gameplan rather than starting from scratch. Sensible given his early success. But of course Dubois is bringing sledgehammer power.

Wardley has also accused Dubois of overconfidence in the buildup. Yet Fabio faces a tricky balancing act: on the one hand, he needs to box better than he did in May. On the other, his strengths are his power, stamina and superhuman durability.

The last thing he wants to do is get into a battle of the jabs with Dubois, who has superior footwork and fundamentals. So it needs to be high-octane brawling with a bit more nous from Wardley if he's to earn revenge.

Easy does it for young Dublin heavyweight Adam Olaniyan. Dan Garber went down from a hefty right hand in round two, the towel came in from his corner … only for referee Amy Pu to throw it back out! She's a hard taskmaster. Garber gamely boxes on but is soon pummelled back to the canvas and this time Pu waves it off.

Olaniyan moves to 5-0 and sounds delighted to have this experience under his belt.

Irish hot prospect Adam Olaniyan is next up as the heavyweight undercard action continues. It's the 20-year-old's fifth fight, taking on veteran southpaw Dan Garber. What a great experience for Olaniyan in front of a very full-looking O2!

Dubois v Wardley: tale of the tape. You know the classic meme of two identical Spider-Men pointing at each other? Well, both Brits are 6ft 5in, orthodox sluggers with a 78-inch wingspan.

Wardley (17st 10lb) is slightly lighter, while Dubois (18st 2lb) is two years younger at 29. But physically this pair are much of a muchness.

Fabio has a record of W20, L1, D1 (19 KOs), while the WBO champion has a ledger of W23 L3 (22 KOs). Wardley has gone the 12-round distance once, Dubois never has, but he does boast greater experience at this level.

Bakhodir Jalolov, the two-time Olympic super-heavyweight gold medallist, continues his curiosity of a professional career by cruising past Solomon Dacres. Jalolov decked the brave Brit to the canvas in round five, but then was content to settle for a dominant 10-round decision.

The Uzbek looks to have it all: a huge, powerful, skilled southpaw. But he somehow fails to inspire. I can't work it out. Anyway, he moves his pro record to a pristine 18-0. He'll be a keen watcher of the main event.

Preview time: Donald McRae – who is at the O2 Arena tonight – has set the scene in style. Treat yourself to his analysis before the main event. Don will deliver some updates from ringside as the night goes on.

Five months ago, watching a likely Fight of the Year between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley in Manchester, a ringside seat offered an initially thrilling insight into the raw brutality of heavyweight boxing.

It was easy to be swept up in the drama as Wardley, defending his WBO title, dropped his more seasoned and favoured rival in the first and third rounds. But Dubois, whose courage had been questioned before, got up both times and fought back with admirable resolve.

The heavyweight action is already under way in London – unbeaten Uzbek amateur standout Bakhodir Jalolov taking on Britain's Solomon Dacres in a 10 rounder.

Meanwhile, Daniel Dubois emerges from a sleek vehicle, wearing a tracksuit and an inscrutable facial expression, before wandering into the arena. Fabio Wardley has already arrived. The champ and challenger are here!

Tyson Fury versus Anthony who? Yes, Britain's biggest-name heavyweights belatedly do battle in December – but if you want a better bet for an all-action fight, it's tonight's rematch between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley for the WBO title.

The first contest was an astonishing slugfest in which Dubois was knocked down after 10 seconds, got dropped again in round three, but eventually bludgeoned a somehow-still-standing Wardley to defeat in the 11th. It was "like a Rocky film", marvelled Frank Warren, a boxing promoter with no need to resort to embellishment.

The sequel takes place only five months later and a key question is whether Wardley has fully recovered from his brutal beating, which made for uncomfortable viewing by the end. The Ipswich man with the Cinderella backstory and a pugilist's nose has shown mental fortitude and heroic durability on his rise from white-collar boxer to world-title level. Both will be tested as he looks to reverse his first defeat.

Strangely for such a wild brawl, Dubois' jab was the key punch of the first bout. The Londoner used it as a ramrod to tee up his punishing right hand, whereas Wardley failed to set the table for power punches. "A victim of my own success," reckons Wardley, who says he was guilty of overconfidence after almost stopping Dubois. "He's not in my league, not on my level," counters his rival.

Both Brits possess fight-ending power, as shown by their 41 knockouts in a combined 43 pro wins. Dubois has lost three times (once to Joe Joyce in an early-career upset, twice to Oleksandr Usyk) but appears dialled in now. Wardley's only blemish aside from the defeat by Dubois is a draw with Frazer Clarke – but, Daniel be warned: he blew Clarke away in round one in a rematch to show his gift for self-improvement.

We expect ringwalks at around 10.30pm (BST). Then the in-ring fireworks soon afterwards. Do stay with us for live buildup and updates!