Fabio Wardley has plotted another domestic dustup, against another former world champion, which could materialise if he successfully defends his WBO title against Daniel Dubois.
Wardley and Dubois will square off in a mouth-watering heavyweight clash on May 9, headlining a Queensberry Promotions card at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
Aptly named ‘Don’t Blink’, their world title fight has all the ingredients to deliver an explosive shootout, with each man boasting a 95% knockout-to-win ratio.
Wardley, however, has ultimately been made a slight favourite, given his stunning 11th-round finish over former world champion Joseph Parker last October.
Not long after his victory, the Ipswich man was then upgraded from ‘interim’ to full WBO champion following Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to vacate his belt.
Dubois, meanwhile, has not fought since his fifth-round stoppage defeat to Usyk in July, back when the Londoner lost his IBF strap in emphatic fashion.
In this next contest, though, the 28-year-old certainly represents a dangerous threat, while Wardley has already begun to consider a possible clash with Tyson Fury.
‘The Gypsy King’ must first get past Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 but, after that, Wardley firmly believes another all-British world title fight could come to fruition.
Speaking with Daily Mail Boxing, the 31-year-old said he initially tried to make his maiden title defence against Fury, until it became clear that the 37-year-old would first need a comeback fight.
“I gave him [Fury] an open invitation to say, ‘Look, if you want it, I’m here. Call me. Just let me know. It’s no bother to me; if you want to go in April, I’ll go in April.’
“But obviously, he’s fighting Makhmudov and doing his own thing. Hopefully – fingers crossed – he comes through that, and then I get through Daniel, and then, on the other side, we find ourselves in Wardley-Fury territory.”
Fury has not fought since suffering a second points defeat to Usyk in 2024 but, with a win over Makhmudov, perhaps he will soon return to the top end of his division.
