Fabio Wardley is not here just to take part; the WBO heavyweight champion is here to take over. After the Suffolk scrapper was promoted to full champion just days after his knockout win over Joseph Parker last year, Wardley now has a taste for it and is after more accolades. The Brit had been expected to trade leather with Oleksandr Usyk next, but the Ukrainian had other ideas after relinquishing his gold strap.
Wardley will instead return to the ring on Saturday night against fellow Brit, Daniel Dubois. 'Triple D' is looking to bounce back following his defeat to Usyk in his last appearance in the ring last July. The hard-hitting Dubois is aiming to become world champion for a second time, but faces a tough night at the office in the shape of Wardley. The Ipswich native has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the pinnacle of the sport, despite his little to no experience as an amateur. A win on Saturday night could see Wardley edge one step closer to a crack at the two-time undisputed heavyweight champion.
Wardley's warning to Usyk
Wardley is planning to add to his trophy cabinet after sending a chilling warning to the man who holds the WBA, WBC and IBF championships. "That is exactly the thought process," he told Sky Sports. "In terms of putting people against Oleksandr Usyk, you've almost tried everything in terms of the unorthodox style of someone like Tyson Fury and then the well-schooled style of someone like [Anthony] Joshua or Dubois, for instance, those strong guys. Maybe throw a curveball at him, the white collar kid at him, and see what he comes up with."
The 31-year-old added: "I want to be successful and I want to tick off the big names. I've got one belt and I'm not planning on stopping there. This fight is a statement of that in and of itself."
Remembering past sparring sessions
Saturday's dust-up will not mark the first time the two knockout specialists have traded leather. Wardley was merely a novice when they first met, while Dubois was a decorated amateur destined for greatness. The reigning WBO champion admits he was battered from pillar to post in their sparring sessions. That said, he is very much confident the end result this weekend will be much different to the last time they shared a ring.
"It was seven or eight years ago and I had just started," he recalled. "I have no qualms in admitting he punched me up but I would beg him not to take anything from that and carry it through to now. Back then I was a guy who had laced up a pair of gloves three years before and thought I'd have a move around with Daniel Dubois. I knew it would be a tough spar but I always relished it. I went into it knowing he was better than me and I had no problem with that. And I would come out and think, 'I only got punched up 15 times but that was two less than last week'. I was trying to get better and the only way to do that was to compete with people better than me."
"There was no point staying in my little old white-collar gym and smashing up Steve who comes in every other week and thinking I was the man. Daniel was definitely up there as one of the big punchers I was in with, but there were a lot I was sharing the ring with at that time. It wasn't like he was a stand-out, it was just known he was pretty solid and could whack a bit. Some of it was due to how green I was; taking shots and not even moving and taking them straight to the dome which would rack my brain a bit!"
