Fabio Wardley has expressed his willingness to face Tyson Fury in an all-British heavyweight clash after the former world champion included him on a list of potential opponents. Wardley, who became the WBO interim champion by knocking out Joseph Parker in October, was later promoted to full champion when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt.
Fury announced his retirement in January but reversed his decision months later, targeting a return to the ring in 2026. The 37-year-old has not fought since losing to Usyk for a second time in December 2024 and has been training in Thailand while filming the second series of his Netflix documentary, 'At Home With The Furys.'
Responding to Fury's call-out, Wardley told Sky Sports: 'It was good because he was already on mine. It makes no difference to me. I'd be extremely keen to see if he's genuine about it or not.' The Ipswich fighter insisted he is not shying away from big fights and intends to defend his title against the biggest names.
'I'm not going to run off with my belt and not offer it out to anyone,' Wardley said. 'He may be looking at it like it might be an easy touch for him to roll out of retirement, come into a fight, pick up a world title and go on to bigger things, but as fighters of late have found out, I'm quite the banana skin.'
Fury, meanwhile, has spoken about his enduring love for boxing, stating in an Instagram video: 'I have literally won everything... It's mainly about the love of the fight game... I'll probably be ending up in a wheelchair like the rest of them all.'
