Artur Beterbiev’s light-heavyweight showdown with Dmitry Bivol delivered as the legendary encounter that many predicted beforehand but it was Fabio Wardley and Ben Whittaker who stole the show on the undercard – for both good and bad reasons. Now, with Wardley poised to make the jump to the world level, one of his countrymen has called for him to make one last defence of his British heavyweight title.
Wardley knocked out Nathan Gorman to pick up the vacant Lonsdale Belt back in November 2022 but since then he has proven himself to be worthy of the fabled trinket, despite entering the professional ranks without any amateur experience.
The Ipswich fan-favourite comfortably dominated and then halted David Adeleye on the Fury-Ngannou card in Riyadh last October, although it was a draw against Frazer Clarke that saw his superstardom reach new heights.
Wardley went to war with the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist in the headline attraction at the O2 Arena on Easter Sunday, representing boxers from a white-collar background and doing them proud in a gruelling display that will likely be a fight of the year candidate.
At the weekend, Wardley and Clarke stepped through the ropes for a salivating rematch but this time around the contest was far more one-sided, as Wardley cracked the jaw of his rival in the opening round with a devastating right-hook that left Clarke unconscious, mouth agape and requiring surgery.
One of the most vicious KOs I’ve ever seen. Look at the side of Clarke’s head. Also, look at his mouth. Emphatic display by Fabio Wardley. Sheesh. 🎥 @DAZNBoxingpic.twitter.com/OxLPNSnp28
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 13, 2024
As a result, Wardley is now being left with the decision of whether he should opt to remain as the British champion and attempt the fourth championship contest victory that would see him the belt outright or alternatively attempt to capitalize on his newfound fame and make the jump to the world stage.
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However, whilst many believe there to be a lack of remaining contenders for Wardley at the British level, English heavyweight champion Solomon Dacres told Boxing Social that he would relish the opportunity.
“He might go on and vacate but I am still trying to get on his tail, man.
“Hopefully [he is interested in winning the belt outright], I am all systems go for that one. Hopefully it would be something that we could get on.”
Although the Birmingham-born heavyweight is well poised for the belt if it were to be vacated, Dacres went on to admit that he would rather defeat the champion for the title, especially considering his belief that Wardley is tailor-made for his style.
“You’ve got to beat the champion to be the champion and that is what we want.”
“He is not the most technical boxer, but he can punch a bit and he is a game. He seems to have a bit of power, and he seems to have a bit of fighting spirit about him – which is something that you can’t take away from someone in the pro game.
“He is doing well for himself, especially coming from a white-collar background, but I just feel like I can be the one to give him a boxing lesson.”
Wardley has now been given an updated world ranking and it remains to be seen whether he will decline the allure of the biggest names in the division in favour of his goal to keep ahold of the illustrious British heavyweight title.
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