Fabio Wardley can reach the top of heavyweight boxing – but a risky fight stands in his way

Independent

3 days ago

It has been nearly a decade since Tyson Fury changed the heavyweight landscape one night in Dusseldorf.
Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko to win three versions of the world heavyweight title in 2015, just six months later Anthony Joshua won a version and the rest is history.
'What a time to be a heavyweight and dream of winning the world title,' said Fabio Wardley. It is indeed a great time to be a heavyweight, especially a British heavyweight.
On Saturday night, at Portman Road, Wardley will walk just a bit closer to the dream when he fights in front of his hometown fans for the right to be a serious contender. It might also be the night that we find a local hero – and the British boxing business loves a local idol.
On the same night, in Barnsley, a confirmed hometown hero, Callum Simpson, fights outdoors at Oakwell. I truly believe that quality fighters like Wardley and Simpson topping bills, at their home grounds, on the same night is bad for the sport.
In the opposite corner to Wardley will be the unbeaten Australian, Justis Huni, a respectable fighter with enough dreams of his own. The Australian scene is thriving right now, and a genuine leading heavyweight contender would add to the business. It would be a lucrative crown; Wardley would also make tremendous gains in a multi-million-pound heavyweight boxing boom.
They should be applauded for accepting the fight and it is far more than just the money. They are two unbeaten prospects in a bout that neither needed to take; in previous decades they would have crossed the street to avoid contact. Their promotional and management teams both believe the other camp has made a mistake and that always leads to a good fight.
The summer of heavyweight showdowns and announcements is about to start; in July, Daniel Dubois has a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title. Joshua, Joseph Parker, the avoided New Zealander, and six or more of the leading contenders, will all be hoping for a call to join Riyadh Season, which will enter its third year of delivering the previously undeliverable, once it starts again.
The landscape for the big men by Christmas will be very different and Wardley and Huni are fighting for a place on the very top table; a lot of names need a big name and those are the rules of action in Riyadh. There are no poor veterans from the previous two seasons of fights.
Wardley is still only 30 and started his journey on the white-collar circuit; his progress as a professional was gentle, not groundbreaking. He is now a long, long way removed from the free-swinging dangerman in grainy footage clobbering topless doormen at dinner shows inside nightclubs. There were some early signs that the raw edges had been refined, clear signs that he was putting as much brain as there was brawn behind his punches.
Last March, he kept his British heavyweight title with a brutal draw against Frazer Clarke. It showed Wardley had the stamina, the smarts and the guts to go the distance; a few months later, he stopped Clarke in a round. That was his last fight, his most significant in every way. Wardley is no longer just a white-collar convert.
Huni has been all about promise in his 12 fights as a professional. He has not had to break a sweat, but the promise is there, a mixture of his youth, his decade on the top international amateur circuit and his obvious desire. Too often, in the boxing business, we look too deeply for a fighter's strengths and weaknesses; Huni has burning desire and that goes a long, long way. We foolishly search for facts about stamina, rounds, punch aggregates, personal bests on the track, and what we should be doing is looking at what the boxer wants and how he is acting. And, in my opinion, desire is a massive factor.
The bad news for Huni and his gang is that Wardley is also all about desire. As I said, this looks like a great scrap. Wardley can win a hard, hard fight and Huni can win a smarter fight.