Fabio Wardley will need every tool in his arsenal this weekend when he takes on Joseph Parker for a shot at world champion Oleksandr Usyk
Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley clash this weekend(Image: Getty Images)
Fabio Wardley stared into the mirror and made a deal with his conscience.
As a fledgling recruitment consultant, his only concern had been with another man’s next job. As a licensed fighter he knew he was leaving his fate in another man’s fists. And the eight years since the hard-hitting heavyweight’s own career change have brought home the brutal realities of his profession.
Wardley, 30, suffered a busted nose in his brutal draw with Frazer Clarke and survived on a diet of ice cream and noodles for three days. He then flattened the Olympic medalist in their rematch, leaving his rival with a broken jaw and cheekbone as well as a dent in his head.
Wardley also knocked out Justis Huni with a single punch to set up his clash with Joseph Parker on Saturday night. Victory will propel him into a showdown with undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk who is set to be ringside in London. But Wardley knows he will be dicing with his destiny when he steps through the ropes again.
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“It’s a bid of a double-edged blade, especially thinking back to the second Frazer Clarke fight,” he said. “It’s always great to get the win but the praise I was getting is a funny one. Yes, it was me who threw the punch but it could have been me on the end of it. It’s a funny one to wrestle with in your brain.
“I’ve said before these fights take years off my life and there’s a level of reality to that and it’s a demon I wrestled with when I decided to get into professional boxing. You have to accept your fate in that sense, you’re more likely to get damaged in a ring if you’re half-worried about getting hurt than if you go in full throttle.
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“It was a conversation I had with myself and once ‘me and me’ had hashed that out it was full steam ahead.” Wardley turned professional after just four white-collar fights and could be crowned world champion within 22 paid bouts. And he is confident he won’t need to be convinced to hang up his gloves.
“I don’t think I’ll be one of those guys still hanging around in their 40s and 50s trying to keep it going,” he added. “I’ve always wanted to have a full and enjoyable career and do it to the best of my ability and once those abilities leave me, I don’t think I’ll fight it.
“I think I’ll know it’s time to hang them up and that I’ve had a good run. Boxing is a fantastic sport but there is more to life and I would like to enjoy life after this.”