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.
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.
TYSON FURY BLASTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER DANIEL DUBOIS STOPS FABIO WARDLEY IN MANCHESTER
Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua "chinny" after Daniel Dubois secured the WBO heavyweight title against a resilient Fabio Wardley.
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Tyson Fury wasted no time after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley this past weekend, using the moment to take a shot at Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up his second heavyweight title Saturday night in Manchester, grabbing the WBO belt from Wardley in a wild, bloodied battle that’s already being called a fight of the year candidate.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dubois, though. He hit the canvas twice in the first three rounds but bounced back hard, battering Wardley late and leaving his face a mess as the final bell sounded.
Wardley never actually went down during the fight, despite looking wobbly near the end. Credit to him for sheer toughness, but Dubois still beat him decisively. This was Dubois’ first victory since his massive upset over Anthony Joshua earlier in 2024, when he floored AJ four times in one night.
On Sunday, Fury chimed in about Dubois’ latest win. With his own fight against Joshua rumoured for later this year on Netflix, Fury saw an opening to stir the pot.
“Just been thinking about Dubois’ crazy fight last night,” Fury said. Dubois fought [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought. [Filip] Hrgovic stopped him but never put him down. Fought Wardley last night and stopped him, but didn’t put him down. He hit Usyk with bombs but didn’t drop him. But against Anthony Joshua? Drops him five times.”
Fury added, “I’m not saying Joshua’s got no chin, but facts are facts. Take it however you want. Nobody else went down, not Miller, not Hrgovic, not Usyk, not Wardley. But Joshua hits the deck five times? Chinny, get up, slink!”
Fury is coming off a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has already signed on to fight Joshua this year. Joshua will warm up first against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Pregna in Saudi Arabia on July 25 before facing Fury.
Promoter Frank Warren says Fury vs. AJ will probably land in October, though Fury might want another tune-up, which could push things back a bit.
As for Dubois, he’s got options. There’s talk of a rematch with Wardley, a chance to settle the score with Usyk in a trilogy, or a domestic showdown with Moses Itauma. Dubois’ dad, Stan, told talkSPORT he’d rather see his son fight another British heavyweight next, not Usyk.
HOW DANIEL DUBOIS SURVIVED TWO KNOCKDOWNS TO STOP A BLOODY FABIO WARDLEY
"I had to dig deep." Read Daniel Dubois' full reaction to his stunning comeback victory against Fabio Wardley in Manchester.
The punch that changed everything wasn't thrown by either of the fighters.
Fabio Wardley came out blazing in his title defence, dropping Daniel Dubois just 10 seconds in. He did it again in the third round, making it look like his big night. But then, something strange happened. As Dubois got up after the fourth round, his trainer, Don Charles, slapped him hard on both cheeks.
That’s when Dubois woke up. “I had to make him realise what he needed to do,” Charles said afterwards. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you see at team-building seminars, but it worked. Dubois turned on, and suddenly Wardley’s reign started to unravel.
Wardley had picked Dubois for the first fight since collecting the WBO belt that Oleksandr Usyk dropped. Honestly, it looked like a smart pick: he dropped Dubois twice and set the tone. But after that slap, Dubois started seeing Wardley’s moves coming; those wild lunges became easier to dodge.
He landed his stiff jab and followed up with savage right hands. Wardley’s jaw somehow took the hits, but his nose was pouring blood, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. He kept pushing forward, showing crazy heart, while Dubois just kept piling on. The fight turned into a brutal spectacle, the kind you can’t look away from.
Wardley got checked twice by doctors but kept fighting. Honestly, it could've stopped before the second-to-last round, when referee Howard Foster finally stepped in. Dubois got his second world title; Wardley, battered and worn, just managed a thumbs up to his mum.
Dubois summed it up later: “I had to dig really deep. When you’re a warrior, you go to dark places. I was nervous at first, all over the place, and had to fight my own battles. That slap woke me up. My dad and everyone were in my corner; I couldn’t let them down.
“Fabio came to fight; he was tough. We were exhausted; it was a real war. I had to use all my skills to win. Great fight, great battle, and I’m No. 1 again.” Sure, Usyk might argue about that, but Dubois proved something; he got up off the canvas and won.
People have called Dubois a quitter since the Joe Joyce fight six years ago. Wardley himself thought Dubois would fold again in Manchester, and for three rounds it looked like he was right until reality snapped Dubois awake.
