Fabio Wardley warned against taking ‘dangerous fight’

Recently, Fabio Wardley was announced as the new WBO heavyweight champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated his title. 

Following that decision by the Ukrainian, Wardley was elevated to the full title. His options appear plentiful for a first defence, but former super middleweight world champion Carl Froch recently spoke to Gameshub, warning Wardley about facing former heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois.

The rise of Fabio Wardley to world champion

The rise of Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) is a real-life Rocky story, having no real amateur background apart from a handful of white-collar fights.

He has shown a willingness to learn under the guidance of Ben Davison and the team at the Ben Davison Performance Centre. His standout ability is undoubtedly his power, which has seen him amass 19 knockouts. His brutal stoppage wins against Frazer Clarke, Justis Huni and most recently Joseph Parker stand out.

After Usyk’s decision to vacate, Wardley was elevated to WBO champion. When speaking to Sky Sports, Wardley was asked if he understood Usyk’s decision:

“I don’t know what he may be planning for himself, whether that be retirement, whether it be a different fight, whether it be another alternative.

“It was a bit of a strange one, because initially he took a bit of a break. He was allowed an absence, an extension on the belt, and then to give it up just seems a bit of a strange move.

“I’m not too sure what he was thinking.”

Fabio Wardley warned against Daniel Dubois fight

As mentioned previously, Wardley has plenty of options for his first defence, and one of those could be the former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois. This is a fight Carl Froch believes Wardley should avoid:

“If he [Wardley] doesn’t get caught on the chin with a big heavy right hand off Dubois, Fabio Wardley could outwork him. But it’s a dangerous fight for Wardley. Dubois is a big puncher and a dangerous puncher for 12 rounds. Parker’s world level and he did a job on him. He’s got options. He’s going to have to take the plunge, but I don’t think I’d fight Dubois. Maybe AJ could be the fight for him. But AJ won’t fight Wardley. Too high risk, low reward.”