BRITISH heavyweight Fabio Wardley needs a new opponent for his summer homecoming at Portman Road.
The home of Wardley’s beloved Ipswich Town was set to stage a clash between the unbeaten contender and controversial American Jarrell Miller.
Over the last 24 hours, however, whispers have begun to circulate that ‘Big Baby’ Miller had pulled out. This evening, Wardley’s promoters, Queensberry, confirmed the news with the following statement:
“Due to a shoulder injury sustained during training camp, Jarrell Miller has had to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Fabio Wardley at Portman Road on June 7.
“Queensberry is currently speaking to all relevant parties regarding the situation and expects to announce a replacement opponent within the next 48 hours.”
Wardley and Miller had already come face to face during their launch press conference earlier this month. As expected, it didn’t take long for sparks to fly, with Miller attempting to strike Wardley during one exchange.
While the bout could still be revisited at a later date, Wardley needs a new foe. In the current WBA rankings, Wardley is the number one contender. By process of elimination, the WBA’s Regular titlist, Kubrat Pulev, has been ordered by the sanctioning body to face the number two-ranked Michael Hunter. Wardley’s gym-mate, Moses Itauma, fights on May 24 in Scotland on the Josh Taylor-Ekow Essuman undercard against Mike Balogun. A clash between Wardley and Itauma seems unlikely, as they are both trained by Ben Davison.
Cuba’s Lenier Pero, ranked fifth, doesn’t carry the profile for a fight of this magnitude, outdoors at a football stadium. Martin Bakole (ranked sixth) returns on Saturday night in Riyadh against Efe Ajagba and would need more notice to be fully prepared. Filip Hrgovic (ranked seventh), however, does fit the bill. The Croat recently beat Joe Joyce to return to winning ways, and his pedigree and name carry the weight to be a fitting opponent for Wardley in June.
By the end of this week, the Ipswich man will know who he faces next.
