Premier League star reveals he was secretly a boxer as a kid as he throws support to heavyweight Fabio Wardley
FABIO WARDLEY has received backing from a Premier League star who revealed he was secretly a boxer as a kid.
Wardley is a huge Ipswich fan and returns to the ring on Saturday at his beloved Portman Road against Australian Justis Huni.
And he will have the backing of the Ipswich faithful and squad - including captain Sam Morsy - who knows a thing or two about boxing himself.
Morsy revealed: "It's going to be amazing, I can't wait to watch it and I'm buzzing for him.
"It's going to be an historic event and historic moment for him. I used to box as a kid, I had an amateur fight and won, back in the day.
"I enjoyed it, boxing as a kid every summer – six weeks' holiday and I'd be in the boxing gym.
'So I really enjoyed it, I enjoy watching it and it's amazing to see Fab do his thing as part of the Ipswich family – and hopefully he wins!'
Morsy, 33, joined Ipswich in 2021 from Middlesbrough and was named captain soon after.
The midfielder helped the Tractor Boys gain back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.
But they were relegated this season along with Southampton and Leicester.
3
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
Morsy has given plenty motivational speeches in the dressing room and revealed what he would tell Wardley on fight night.
He said: 'I'd say 'look, you're living your dream," Morsy revealed. "Be brave, be bold, trust yourself – you've got it. Simple."
Fabio Wardley faces off with Justis Huni ahead of his homecoming fight
Over 20,000 are expected to be at Portman Road on the weekend and Wardley added: 'The support of the club as a whole is something that's hard to put into words.
"It's not just been the odd player here or there, or the odd staff member, everyone around the club has been so supportive and invested in me, wanting this to come off in the years beforehand.
'From the players to everyone that's around the club and Mark (Ashton) himself, who has been a massive advocate and massive pusher of pulling this off… ultimately this doesn't come together without him being keen on it and him really wanting it to go ahead.
'So I could not be more thankful to him and the club as whole for their backing, their support – and ultimately just, at the crux of it, looking after one of their own.
'And I think that's the strong ethos of this club. We support and get behind our own.'
3
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Dave Brailsford to step back from Manchester United and return to Ineos
Sir Dave Brailsford is to reduce his role at Manchester United under a reshuffle being planned by minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Brailsford has played a major part since Ratcliffe secured his stake in United in February 2024, stepping down as team principal of the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team to take charge of footballing operations at Old Trafford and investing considerable time and energy in driving change at the club. But after a season in which United ended in 15th place, their worst Premier League finish, and lost the Europa League final against Tottenham, Ratcliffe is planning a shake-up in which Brailsford will return to his role as director of sport for the wider Ineos group, as first reported by the Times. Under the plans, the former Tour de France winner and Olympic champion Geraint Thomas is poised to take on a leadership role with the Grenadiers when he retires as a rider at the end of the year. Brailsford, 61, has overseen a major overhaul of United's operations, including a £50m redevelopment of the Carrington training ground. Ratcliffe has scaled back some of Ineos's sporting commitments, terminating its sponsorship of the New Zealand rugby team and ending his bid to win the America's Cup. However, Ratcliffe remains committed to the cycling team, who no longer hold the dominant position they did when winning the Tour de France in seven out of eight editions between 2012 and 2019. Thomas, 39, has said he will retire after the Tour of Britain in September.
Leader Live
20 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Sir Dave Brailsford set for reduced role at Manchester United after reshuffle
Brailsford has played a major part since Ratcliffe secured his stake in United in February 2024, stepping down as team principal of the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team to take charge of footballing operations at Old Trafford and investing considerable time and energy in driving change at the club. But after a season in which United finished 15th, their worst Premier League finish, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham, Ratcliffe is planning a shake-up which will see Brailsford return to his role as director of sport for the wider Ineos group, as first reported by The Times. Under the plans, Jason Wilcox – currently United's technical director – will reportedly be named director of football, and former Tour de France winner and Olympic champion Geraint Thomas is set to take on a leadership role with the Grenadiers when he retires as a rider at the end of the year. Brailsford, 61, has overseen a major overhaul of United's operations, including a £50million redevelopment of the Carrington training ground. Ratcliffe has scaled back some of Ineos's sporting commitments, terminating its sponsorship of the New Zealand rugby team and ending his bid to win the America's Cup. However, Ratcliffe remains committed to the cycling team, who no longer hold the dominant position they did when winning the Tour de France in seven out of eight editions between 2012 and 2019. Thomas, 39, has said he will retire after the Tour of Britain in September.
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Paul Hollywood admits friends won't bake for him after tearful cake incident
Paul Hollywood has recalled a baking horror story in which a friend became tearful after he judged one of their bakes. Appearing on Wednesday's (4 June) episode of The One Show, the Great British Bake Off judge told an anecdote about a companion who, after baking their own birthday cake, wanted his opinion. Hollywood revealed that he didn't hold back, offering up a similar level of criticism he might give a contestant on the Channel 4 show — but this was at the friend's insistence. "Do it like you do on Bake Off," Hollywood said the friend told him.
