\u201cThe only expectation I have is that it will end in a knockout,\u201d Fabio Wardley says cheerfully as he looks ahead to his dangerous first defence of the WBO world heavyweight title against Daniel Dubois in Manchester on Saturday night. \u201cDon\u2019t Blink\u201d is the promotional tagline for a battle between two powerful yet vulnerable heavyweights and, for once, this is less boxing bluster than reasonable advice for anyone watching a fight which could be the most dramatic heavyweight contest this year.<\/p>\n
Wardley and Dubois are devastating punchers who also often look at risk of losing. Dubois has been beaten three times in 25 fights while dispatching his other opponents with brutal efficiency. Two years ago, the unbeaten Wardley came close to defeat against Frazer Clarke in their first fight, which ended up being a draw after a damaging bloodbath for both men. He knocked out Clarke after two savage minutes in the rematch but then lost every round against Justis Huni before producing a chilling late stoppage of the skilful Australian last June.<\/p>\n
A former white-collar boxer<\/a>, with little amateur experience, Wardley always seems able to find a way to win. His most impressive victory, against the vastly experienced Joseph Parker last October<\/a>, resulted in him becoming the WBO champion and Wardley sounds certain that his hand will be raised after another hard test this weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether that knockout comes early, which I\u2019ve done in the past, or whether that comes later, which I\u2019ve also done in the past, who knows?\u201d Wardley continues. \u201cIt depends on whether Daniel wants to come and meet me, or if he is going to be more on the back foot and staying away from me for a bit. We\u2019ll see how he shapes up.\u201d<\/p>\n Wardley will soon reveal his articulate and insightful character, which has made him a rising force in boxing punditry, and analyse the shifting landscape of the heavyweight division which is exemplified by Moses Itauma and Wardley offering a fresh alternative to the increasingly stale melodrama trundled out by Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua<\/a>. Wardley will also voice growing concern about doping but, first, he examines Dubois\u2019 psychological frailties.<\/p>\n Wardley has already suggested he will start a firefight in the opening round as a way of putting his often complex opponent under immense pressure from the outset. \u201cYes,\u201d he says, \u201cbut it\u2019s more of a disregard for him because I\u2019m going to make sure Daniel is concerned with me and not the other way round. So I\u2019ll be on the front foot, pressing the action, and he will be asking questions of himself. Whatever that does to him over the course of the fight, let it roll out.\u201d<\/p>\n Dubois was accused, wrongly, of quitting after he suffered a grotesque broken eye socket against Joe Joyce in 2020. But there were more troubling doubts about his willingness to suffer when he lost the first of two fights against Oleksandr Usyk. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of character,\u201d Wardley says. \u201cI can only look at how I would go about a fight myself, and that\u2019s not the attitude I would take whether losing or not. In the Justis Huni fight it wasn\u2019t going my way at all. But at no point did the thought cross my brain to cop out. I was still going after him and hunting him, albeit getting tagged. It wasn\u2019t going at all well but I kept trying.\u201d<\/p>\n Fabio Wardley on his Dubois fight: \u2018I\u2019ll be on the front foot, pressing, and he will be asking questions of himself.\u2019 Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Does he sense a mental fragility in Dubois? \u201cI think so. Once you\u2019ve shown those doubts in public, it\u2019s not something you can then package up and put away. If you don\u2019t like being in that uncomfortable place it shows a weakness someone like me can exploit.\u201d<\/p>\n Dubois still brings aggression and power and Wardley has tasted that threat in a sparring session which he admits his more experienced opponent dominated. \u201cIt happened a good eight years ago. I\u2019d probably only been pro for a year. I was novice-y and green. I wasn\u2019t even riding shots. I was just taking punches flush and you could definitely feel the power. I\u2019m obviously so much better now but he\u2019s also got bigger and stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n Wardley also concedes that Dubois shocked him when he knocked out Joshua in 2024. \u201cThey\u2019re both massive punchers but I didn\u2019t think Daniel would stand up to him. But it\u2019s heavyweight boxing, where anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n It surprised some that Wardley chose the hard-hitting Dubois as his first defence but, even before he beat Parker, he had told me that he really wanted to fight Usyk. \u201c100%,\u201d he reiterates. But Usyk, who was the undisputed champion, chose to relinquish his WBO title rather than face Wardley. Instead, the best heavyweight in the world, by some distance, will defend his WBC bauble against the Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in Egypt<\/a> this month.<\/p>\n It\u2019s yet another stunt, which is more of an exhibition, and Wardley says: \u201cMy opinions are similar to the boxing community. It\u2019s underwhelming but there is a level of understanding for me as a fighter. I get the fact that, at this stage of his career and after everything he has achieved, Usyk has earned the right to do what he wants. But that doesn\u2019t make it any less disappointing, especially for me wanting to fight him. But I\u2019m not going to gripe about it. This is boxing and it\u2019s not always about who is most deserving. Boxing<\/a> places an intrinsic value on other things.\u201d<\/p>\n Money, of course, dominates the hoopla around the Fury-Joshua showdown<\/a> which will, many years too late, probably take place in October. \u201cIt\u2019s the conclusion for that era of boxers,\u201d Wardley says. \u201cIt\u2019s also a fight that\u2019s very much past its sell-by date but there\u2019s no way I\u2019m not going to watch it. Whatever price tag they put on it, people will tune in because the allure around that fight will always be there.\u201d<\/p>\n Who will win that faded clash between two former world champions? \u201cAJ obviously had the tragic [car] accident [where he was injured while two close friends died in Nigeria last December]. There\u2019s a lot to bring himself back from, both mentally as well as physically, and he needs to do a 360-degree turnaround. His warm-up fight [against the obscure Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on 25 July] will show us more. But at the moment I would probably lean towards Tyson Fury.\u201d<\/p>\n Fabio Wardley during an open-top bus tour on media day in Manchester this week. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n I\u2019m more interested in Wardley and, especially, Itauma, the brilliant 21-year-old heavyweight prodigy<\/a>. Wardley smiles: \u201cWe\u2019re leading the pack and you can also throw Daniel in there as he\u2019s already been a world champion. The three of us are the next fighters to lead heavyweight boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n Wardley watched Itauma break down the tough American Jermaine Franklin<\/a> in five rounds in March. \u201cIt was a really good performance. Clean, clinical, did everything to a tee, and got Franklin out of there like no one\u2019s been able to.\u201d<\/p>\n Have we been guilty of overhyping Itauma? \u201cNo. Of course in boxing we are very quick to overhype someone and then absolutely chastise them if they lose. But the hype around Moses is deserved. It would be unwarranted if he wasn\u2019t getting all this attention.\u201d<\/p>\n He and Itauma are gym mates, as they are both trained by Ben Davison, but Wardley says: \u201cI\u2019ve never sparred with him. Since Moses came to the gym I\u2019ve been preparing for orthodox fighters.\u201d Itauma is a southpaw but Wardley stresses: \u201cIt\u2019s not something that either of us are actively avoiding. It\u2019s just a matter of circumstance but if my stablemate needs a helping hand for an upcoming bout, I\u2019d jump in the ring with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Wardley and Itauma could be on a collision course but who would train them if they do fight? \u201cIt\u2019s all hypothetical at the moment because we both have Ben in our corner. I don\u2019t know how we\u2019re going to work that one out. Are we going to flip a coin and see who gets Ben? It\u2019s a moot point at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Doping presents a far more tangible worry for Wardley \u2013 particularly after it emerged, a few weeks after his 11th-round stoppage of Parker, that his New Zealand rival had tested positive for a prohibited substance<\/a> in a sample taken by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (Vada) on the day of the bout.<\/p>\n \u201cMy initial reaction was aggravation and anger,\u201d Wardley says, \u201cbecause I\u2019d only heard that he\u2019d failed a drugs test, and there was no specification around what it was or the quantity that had been found. I now reserve judgment until we have the final outcome [of the investigation].<\/p>\n \u201cBut I always feel a massive amount of anger whenever any fighter tests positive. Boxing is a very dangerous sport and it doesn\u2019t need PEDs [performance-enhancing drugs] being added to that cauldron. So it is upsetting across the board but unfortunately, at this level of sport, everyone wants an advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n