Fabio Wardley knows exactly how it feels to be walloped around the ring by Daniel Dubois. But the heavyweight world champion has warned his rival not to expect a repeat performance. Wardley, 31, will defend his crown for the first time against the hard-hitting ex-champion this weekend, and he is confident the outcome will be very different to the last time they shared a ring.
Wardley was a mere pup of a pro after jumping into the paid ranks from the unlicensed scene, while Dubois, 28, was a decorated amateur destined for greatness. The Ipswich man admits he was bashed from pillar to post in their sparring sessions. '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!'
Wardley was crowned world champion when Oleksandr Usyk gave up his belt instead of facing the Brit. He could have opted for a soft touch in his first title defence, but instead wanted to prove a point. 'I was offered a list of opponents and picked Daniel,' he added. 'I looked at where I would get the most credit. He's a former world champion and someone who has been in with some of the best guys around and beat them. He was the most dangerous one and it's going to be a hell of a fight.'
