“The only expectation I have is that it will end in a knockout,” 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. “Don’t Blink” 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.
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.
A former white-collar boxer, 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, resulted in him becoming the WBO champion and Wardley sounds certain that his hand will be raised after another hard test this weekend.
“Whether that knockout comes early, which I’ve done in the past, or whether that comes later, which I’ve also done in the past, who knows?” Wardley continues. “It 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’ll see how he shapes up.”
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. Wardley will also voice growing concern about doping but, first, he examines Dubois’ psychological frailties.
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. “Yes,” he says, “but it’s more of a disregard for him because I’m going to make sure Daniel is concerned with me and not the other way round. So I’ll 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.”
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. “It’s a matter of character,” Wardley says. “I can only look at how I would go about a fight myself, and that’s not the attitude I would take whether losing or not. In the Justis Huni fight it wasn’t 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’t going at all well but I kept trying.”
Does he sense a mental fragility in Dubois? “I think so. Once you’ve shown those doubts in public, it’s not something you can then package up and put away. If you don’t like being in that uncomfortable place it shows a weakness someone like me can exploit.”
Dubois still brings aggression and power and Wardley has tasted that threat in a sparring session which he admits his more experienced opponent dominated. “It happened a good eight years ago. I’d probably only been pro for a year. I was novice-y and green. I wasn’t even riding shots. I was just taking punches flush and you could definitely feel the power. I’m obviously so much better now but he’s also got bigger and stronger.”
Wardley also concedes that Dubois shocked him when he knocked out Joshua in 2024. “They’re both massive punchers but I didn’t think Daniel would stand up to him. But it’s heavyweight boxing, where anything can happen.”
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. “100%,” 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 this month.
It’s yet another stunt, which is more of an exhibition, and Wardley says: “My opinions are similar to the boxing community. It’s 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’t make it any less disappointing, especially for me wanting to fight him. But I’m not going to gripe about it. This is boxing and it’s not always about who is most deserving. Boxing places an intrinsic value on other things.”
Money, of course, dominates the hoopla around the Fury-Joshua showdown which will, many years too late, probably take place in October. “It’s the conclusion for that era of boxers,” Wardley says. “It’s also a fight that’s very much past its sell-by date but there’s no way I’m 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.”
Who will win that faded clash between two former world champions? “AJ obviously had the tragic [car] accident [where he was injured while two close friends died in Nigeria last December]. There’s 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.”
I’m more interested in Wardley and, especially, Itauma, the brilliant 21-year-old heavyweight prodigy. Wardley smiles: “We’re leading the pack and you can also throw Daniel in there as he’s already been a world champion. The three of us are the next fighters to lead heavyweight boxing.”
Wardley watched Itauma break down the tough American Jermaine Franklin in five rounds in March. “It was a really good performance. Clean, clinical, did everything to a tee, and got Franklin out of there like no one’s been able to.”
Have we been guilty of overhyping Itauma? “No. 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’t getting all this attention.”
He and Itauma are gym mates, as they are both trained by Ben Davison, but Wardley says: “I’ve never sparred with him. Since Moses came to the gym I’ve been preparing for orthodox fighters.” Itauma is a southpaw but Wardley stresses: “It’s not something that either of us are actively avoiding. It’s just a matter of circumstance but if my stablemate needs a helping hand for an upcoming bout, I’d jump in the ring with him.”
Wardley and Itauma could be on a collision course but who would train them if they do fight? “It’s all hypothetical at the moment because we both have Ben in our corner. I don’t know how we’re going to work that one out. Are we going to flip a coin and see who gets Ben? It’s a moot point at the moment.”
Doping presents a far more tangible worry for Wardley – 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 in a sample taken by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (Vada) on the day of the bout.
“My initial reaction was aggravation and anger,” Wardley says, “because I’d only heard that he’d 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].
“But I always feel a massive amount of anger whenever any fighter tests positive. Boxing is a very dangerous sport and it doesn’t 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.”
Regis Prograis, who was a world champion just three years ago, told me that he believed about 60 to 70% of pro fighters had dabbled with dope. Does that estimate sound feasible to Wardley? “It’s hard to put a percentage on it but as my time in the sport has grown, and as my experience at the higher level has grown, there’s definitely a lot more [doping] than I initially thought.”
What evidence has he seen? “It’s very covert. Don’t get me wrong. No one is shooting up next to me. But sometimes there’re obvious signs or you hear whispers. Boxing is a very small, tight-knit community. So one whisper will get to the other side of boxing very quickly.”
Do these whispers surround high-level fighters? “There’re maybe a couple on the list that I would actively avoid for that reason.” No names can be revealed without clear evidence but such honesty explains why Wardley is already an impressive pundit. “I’m really enjoying it and it’s nice to be on the other side of the camera and to offer some insight as an active fighter. I think that’s missing from broadcasting. Lots of pundits are ex-fighters and they haven’t done it for a while. The game changes very quickly, and the landscape and nuances do shift. So someone who’s active can offer a different perspective.”
Some of the tattoos inked into Wardley’s skin are in keeping with his thoughtful character. “One of them says ‘we are not made of matter, but what matters’. That’s a note to myself to pay attention to the non-materialistic things in life. It’s important to focus on the poignant things that really do matter. It’s not about possessions – but about relationships and your family and those more meaningful subjects.
“Another one says ‘we are beasts of burden’ which means, to me at least, it’s honourable to carry a weight of some sort. You should bear responsibility for yourself, your family, your friends, the people around you, and that should be something you take pride in and look to with respect and care rather than living this carefree life which just happens around you. There’s a level of responsibility you need to take over your own life.”
The 31-year-old Wardley then says his amiable farewell with a grin and a promise that he is ready to face the burden and responsibility of another hazardous fight on Saturday night.