Fabio Wardley has made it crystal clear who he wishes to face after May 9, when he firmly believes a win over Daniel Dubois will come to fruition.
The 31-year-old is gearing up to defend his WBO world title at Manchester’s Co-op Live, with former heavyweight champion Dubois looking to scupper his plans.
‘Dynamite’ became the IBF world champion following his eighth-round finish over Filip Hrgovic in 2024, before defending the title against Anthony Joshua later that year.
As a result of his five-round demolition job against ‘AJ’, Dubois later secured an undisputed showdown with Oleksandr Usyk, who ultimately handed him a fifth-round stoppage defeat last July.
Wardley, meanwhile, comes off an 11th-round finish over Joseph Parker last October, overcoming their enthralling battle with no small amount of grit and self-belief.
The Ipswich man was then elevated from ‘interim’ to full WBO champion after Usyk vacated the title, rather than collide with his mandatory challenger, in November.
Since then, though, the Ukrainian has expressed his interest in facing the winner of Wardley-Dubois after his clash with kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23.
Unsurprisingly, Wardley has also told Boxing Now that he is angling for a shot at Usyk, hoping to cement himself as the bona fide heavyweight king.
“After I win and beat Daniel, I’ll be looking at Usyk, and ultimately he holds the cards, so I’ll be waiting to hear what he says.
“Then everything else will be secondary to that, whether it be a [Tyson] Fury fight or – hard to mention his name, because of obviously what’s going on – but whether it be an ‘AJ’, or something like that.
“But ultimately, my eyes will be set on Usyk.”
Wardley has previously expressed an openness to lock horns with Fury, who must first complete his comeback assignment against Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.
As for Joshua, the two-time heavyweight champion has now returned to the gym, training with Usyk, but is yet to confirm any details regarding his next outing.
