In terms of boxing, Fabio Wardley may not belong to the league of exceptional heavyweight boxing gentlemen. But: The Brit can hit like a horse, shook the scene with his TKO victory over Joseph Parker and won the right to challenge heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk. His promoter has already named a time frame and a location for the duel.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuusyk! Uuuuuuuuuuusyk,” Fabio Wardley shouted into the microphone in the ring interview after his sensational triumph in London against Joseph Parker. The clear message: I’m ready, bring heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk in front of me.
Very few people had bet on the 30-year-old from Ipswich in advance, with the bookmakers WBO interim champion Parker entering the ring as the 4-1 favorite. Thanks to his knockout power, underdog Wardley quickly gained respect.
In round ten he called heavily on the New Zealander, and one round later the referee stopped the fight after a hail of blows from Wardley.
As WBO interim champion, the Englishman is now in pole position among Usyk’s challengers. The WBO has already signed the Ukrainian to defend the title against Wardley.
Usyk vs. Wardley at Wembley Stadium?
His promoter Frank Warren has already put together a rough framework for the fight for Usyk’s WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO world championship belts.
The fight has been ordered and we are now entering the negotiation phase with the Usyk camp, said the Briton. “I think it (the fight) will be sometime in March. I would love it to be in the UK but there are only two places for this fight: that’s either Riyadh or London – that’s it,” Warren clarified.
“I would love to have the fight at Wembley Stadium, it would be sold out,” the 73-year-old continued. “You know what you get with Usyk and you know what you get with Fabio – it’s going to be exciting.”