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ANALYTICAL TITLE: FABIO WARDLEY 'S 'BITTERSWEET' BELT; TAUNTS TOP 5

New WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley speaks out. He wanted to win the belt from Usyk in the ring and is now calling out all top contenders for his first defence.

Analytical Title: Fabio Wardley 's 'Bittersweet' Belt; Taunts Top 5
Usyk Vacates Belt, Wardley Calls Out Rivals

Fabio Wardley, the new WBO world heavyweight champ with a record of 20-0-1 (19 KOs), told Queensberry Promotions he'd rather have won the belt in the ring after a knockout win. He also addressed the question of whether he thinks Oleksandr Usyk is avoiding him.

The Ipswich native became the WBO world heavyweight titleholder after the Ukrainian undisputed champ chose to give up the belt instead of facing him as a mandatory challenger.

Wardley admits he'd have preferred to win the title in a fight. Still, the 30-year-old, who started boxing after working as a recruitment consultant, isn't complaining too much about his good luck.

He earned his spot as the division's top contender with wins over Frazer Clarke, Justus Huni, and Joseph Parker.

Am I dreaming? The Brit joked in his conversation with Queensberry. You can say how you want things to go, but boxing careers rarely follow the plan. Mine seems to be on track. I still don't think it's sunk in. I look at my team and wonder how we did it.

Before his dramatic 11th-round win over Parker in October, everyone figured the winner would get a shot at Usyk next. Wardley was behind on the scorecards going into that round.

But the 38-year-old Usyk, a two-time undisputed heavyweight champ, said last week that he'd give up the belt because of a back injury.

Since Wardley vs. Parker was for the WBO Interim title, Wardley was automatically bumped up to the sanctioning body’s new heavyweight ruler.

"I expected him to fight me," Wardley said about Usyk's decision. There was talk between the Usyk and Parker camps that Usyk would fight the winner. I thought that's what he'd do, so I was surprised when he didn't, and I got promoted. I'll take it, though.

It's a little of both. It's fantastic, but I wanted it all. I wanted the perfect picture. Every boxer dreams of being a world champion. It would be arrogant of me to complain, but I love to fight and to earn my wins.

There's been talk online about Usyk ducking Wardley. Some think he is, while others say that's ridiculous. Wardley was asked straight up for his take: If it were someone else, would you say they were avoiding me? he wondered.

It's that arrogance thing again. If it were another fighter, it would be a bigger deal. You'd think he'd look at me and think, 'I can get through this guy.' Of course, you want to win in the ring, hear the announcement, have the belt handed to you, and enjoy that moment. I didn't get that, but I'm not going to cry about it.”

Wardley is now waiting for his next opponent. The WBO's top five challengers are Moses Itauma, Filip Hrgovic, Zhilei Zhang, Daniel Dubois, and Jared Anderson.

I'm easy to reach. "Just call," Wardley said. I'm taking all calls.

He wrapped up It's been a fairy tale from start to finish. It's been quick. There have been big steps along the way, and it ended perfectly.

GERVONTA DAVIS ARRESTED IN MIAMI ON BATTERY, KIDNAPPING, AND FALSE IMPRISONMENT CHARGES

Gervonta Davis is in custody after a two-week manhunt. Facing kidnapping charges, the star has been stripped of his WBA title.

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Gervonta Davis was arrested in Miami for kidnapping

Gervonta Davis, who’s a three-division world champ and one of boxing’s biggest names, landed in jail Wednesday in Miami—almost two weeks after police put out a warrant for his arrest. They’re accusing him of battery, false imprisonment, and attempted kidnapping tied to an alleged domestic violence incident from last fall.

Police in Miami Gardens said they tracked Davis for several days across three counties, working with the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force. When they caught up with him in Miami’s Design District, he didn’t put up a fight. They booked him into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Centre late Wednesday.

Cops say all this goes back to something that happened on October 27 at a strip club in Miami Gardens. The woman at the centre of the case used to date Davis and was working there as a VIP cocktail server that night. Police claim Davis confronted her inside, forced her into a back room, assaulted her, then kept her restrained before taking her outside.

In the report, police say Davis grabbed her by the hair and throat, threatened her, and led her out to the parking lot, where he finally let her go. She found coworkers, got help, and called the police. Officers say she had visible bruises on her arm.

She told investigators she met Davis back in 2022. They dated for a few months in 2025, but she broke things off about a month before the incident and had stopped talking to him.

Besides going to the police, she also filed a civil lawsuit against Davis for battery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping. Her attorney said the police investigation lines up with what she claimed in her suit.

“The investigation led to a judge signing off on the arrest warrant,” her attorney said back in January. “That matches the allegations in the lawsuit.”

Court records show her lawyers tried over and over to serve Davis with the lawsuit, but couldn’t find him for weeks.

At a press conference on January 14, Miami Gardens police called it a domestic violence case and said they were working with federal agents to track Davis down. When asked for more details Wednesday night, police said they couldn’t share anything else because the case is still active.

Last fall, Davis was in Miami training for a big fight with influencer Jake Paul, set for November at Kaseya Centre. Once the lawsuit hit the news, Davis was taken off the card, and Anthony Joshua stepped in. Davis last fought in March, when he held onto his WBA lightweight title after a controversial draw with Lamont Roach Jr in Brooklyn.

But over the weekend, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza announced they stripped Davis of the title, pointing to the legal case and his long absence from the ring. Davis has only defended the title twice in three years—most recently against Roach, which was more than ten months ago—and he doesn’t have another fight lined up.

This isn’t Davis’s first run-in with the law. He’s had several domestic violence allegations in Florida and elsewhere, though many were later dropped. In 2023, he got three years’ probation and some house arrest for a hit-and-run in Baltimore.

Right now, it’s not clear if these new Florida charges will mess with his probation in Maryland or delay any future fights. Jail and court records didn’t say when he’ll first appear in court in Miami-Dade.

Miami Gardens police say their investigation is still going and aren’t commenting further.

OFFICIAL: TYSON FURY TO FIGHT ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV LIVE ON NETFLIX APRIL 11

Tyson Fury is back! The "Gypsy King" ends his retirement to face Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 in Netflix's first live UK show.

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Tyson Fury ends retirement for historic UK homecoming

Netflix keeps pushing deeper into the sports world, and boxing is turning out to be a real crowd-pleaser. Now, on April 11, they’re gearing up for another big night: Tyson Fury is stepping out of retirement to face Arslanbek Makhmudov. It’s not just another fight—this will be Netflix’s first-ever live event in the UK.

Fury seems pumped. “Excited to be back,” he said in a statement. “Heart’s always been and always will be in boxing. Someone go tell the king that the ace is back!” The last time he fought was back in December 2024, but you can tell he still feels right at home in the ring.

Gabe Spitzer, who handles sports at Netflix, is just as thrilled. He called Fury one of the most resilient and fascinating fighters of his generation. “His career is all about beating the odds, and there’s just something electric about watching him fight,” Spitzer said. “We can’t wait to see him back for this homecoming, and we love giving our members a front-row seat to the next chapter of the Gypsy King’s story.”

The event’s getting the royal treatment too—Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman, Turki Alalshikh, is presenting, along with Sela and The Ring. Alalshikh’s name comes up a lot in combat sports these days. Saudi Arabia keeps landing some of the sport’s biggest fights, and the country even helped launch the Zuffa Boxing promotion with TKO.

“We’re happy Tyson decided to come out of retirement for what should be an exciting heavyweight clash against Makhmudov,” Alalshikh said.

Fury hasn’t fought since those back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, but his name still draws a crowd. A comeback fight in the UK—his home turf, where he hasn’t fought since 2022—only adds to the buzz.

For Netflix, Fury vs. Makhmudov is another notch in their belt. Last year, they pulled in huge numbers with several boxing shows, especially the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua fight in December. That one alone racked up over 33 million views around the world. Clearly, Netflix is betting big on boxing, and fans seem happy to watch.

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