FIGHT WEEK
Wardley v Dubois Fight Week Schedule Locked — Open Workout Wednesday At Great Northern
Six days out from the Co-op Live, the full fight week schedule has been locked. Open workout, final presser, ceremonial weigh-in — three Manchester nights, all public, all building to Saturday. Here's the run sheet.
May 3, 2026
Boxing Lookout
- Open workout: Wednesday May 6, 5pm at the Great Northern Amphitheatre, Peter Street, Manchester. Public welcome.
- Final press conference: Thursday May 7, 2pm at Co-op Live. Ceremonial weigh-in Friday May 8 at Boulders, Trafford Park, 6pm.
- Fight night: Saturday May 9 at Co-op Live — Wardley defending the WBO heavyweight strap against Dubois.
Right Then — Manchester Locked In
Right then. Six days out from the biggest British heavyweight night since the last big British heavyweight night, and Queensberry have finally pushed the full fight week run sheet out. Three public events across three nights in Manchester, all building to
Fabio Wardley and
Daniel Dubois walking into the Co-op Live on Saturday for the WBO heavyweight title.
If you've got tickets for the fight, brilliant. If you haven't, you've still got three chances to be in the same room as both men this week — and one of them is free.
Wednesday — Open Workout, Great Northern Amphitheatre
The open workout is at The Great Northern Amphitheatre on Peter Street in Manchester city centre. Doors open 4:30pm, workout starts at 5pm. Free entry to the public, no ticket required, but get there early because Manchester turns up for these.
The Great Northern is a brilliant venue for an open workout — wide floor, decent sight lines, lots of standing room. Both men should hit pads, talk to the press, take a few questions. Expect Wardley to look loose. He always does in fight week. Dubois will be more tightly coiled — he always is.
Thursday — Final Press Conference, Co-op Live
Thursday is the final presser at Co-op Live itself. Doors at 1:30pm, kick off 2pm. This is where the proper sparks fly.
Wardley has been hammering Dubois in the build-up — calling him a fighter who folds when proper heavyweights press the issue, calling Frank Warren's promotion structure into question, dropping in the "bin man Dubois" line that Don Charles already had to ask for a retraction on. Dubois, for his part, has stayed pretty quiet through it. He'll let his hands do the talking on Saturday — which is what he tends to do. The presser will be tasty. Both teams in the same room, last word in public, last face-off before the ceremonial.
Friday — Ceremonial Weigh-In, Boulders Trafford Park
Friday's ceremonial weigh-in is at Boulders on Longbridge Road in Trafford Park. Doors 5:30pm, weigh-in starts 6pm. Public entry, free.
The official scales will already have done their job earlier in the day. The ceremonial is the show — both men on stage, both men at the mic, the final stare-down.
Wardley usually comes in razor sharp — expect 17-and-a-half stone or thereabouts.
Dubois tends to weigh heavy and powerful — 18-stone-plus is the usual. The size difference will be the visual story.
Saturday — Fight Night, Co-op Live
The Co-op Live holds 23,500 and Manchester will fill it. WBO heavyweight title on the line. Wardley as champion making his first defence on home soil after dethroning Justis Huni. Dubois as the former unified champion looking to claw the strap back. The undercard is a proper one — David Morrell, Zak Chelli, Bakhodir Jalolov, the lot.
Make no mistake. This is the biggest British heavyweight night of 2026 to date.
The undercard reads as a fight card in itself, the storyline is brilliant, and Manchester will be electric.
The Prediction
We'll save the full fight prediction for later in the week — that's a piece of its own. For now: get to the open workout if you're in Manchester. Get to the weigh-in. Soak in the build.
Wardley v
Dubois is the kind of fight British boxing builds its calendar around, and the next six days are how you remember why you fell for the sport in the first place.
Saturday cannot come quick enough. Six days. Counting.