Fabio Wardley Targeted for Showdown with Competing British KO Specialist in Exciting Heavyweight Bout
Fabio Wardley is gearing up for a significant year and has recently been challenged to go up against a previous heavyweight champion. In his last two bouts, Wardley staged comebacks on the scorecards to secure victories. Both times, he delivered decisive blows in the later rounds, first overcoming Australian Justis Hunt, and then most recently knocking out the in-form New Zealander Joseph Parker. That matchup served as a qualifier for a mandatory shot at the WBO title held by Oleksandr Usyk, but the Ukrainian opted to vacate the title and has since called out American knockout artist Deontay Wilder. As a result, Wardley, who notably lacks an amateur background and instead rose through the white-collar boxing circuit, was elevated to the full WBO champion. He aims to have substantial title defenses this year, and in a conversation with iFL TV, Daniel Dubois’ manager Sam Jones expressed interest in having his fighter challenge the WBO champion. “I’d love to arrange the fight with Wardley. The key point is, Fabio Wardley holds the championship so it would be considered a voluntary defense, but apart from ‘AJ,’ Tyson Fury, and Usyk, Dubois is the biggest name available for Fabio Wardley to face, which would consequently generate the most revenue. “If Fabio secures the Usyk match, then all kudos to him; he has earned that chance, but outside of the names I’ve listed, Daniel Dubois is the largest name, so should he wish to pursue that fight, we can finalize it very, very swiftly.” Dubois has been inactive since his knockout loss to Usyk last July, yet a year prior, he achieved a notable knockout against Joshua. He is intent on regaining that form in 2026 and demonstrating to fans that he still has much to contribute to the heavyweight division.
Published: 2026-01-05 10:24:00
source: www.secondsout.com
