Fabio Wardley is now a target for many of the top fighters in the heavyweight division.
The Ipswich man had a career-defining year in 2025 as he went from contender to world champion, though he never actually won his belt in the ring.
What he did do inside the squared circle was come from behind on the cards to stop tough Aussie Justis Huni in the first half of the year, then took a tough fight against the in-form Joseph Parker in the second half.
Parker, who was on a run that included wins over Martin Bakole, Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder, got a foothold in the fight and seemed to be taking rounds, but then Wardley found one of his big shots and did enough damage to Parker that the referee stopped the fight.
After that, Usyk vacated his WBO belt rather than take on his mandatory, and so Wardley was elevated to full champion.
Speaking to Seconds Out, the well-ranked Filip Hrgovic didn’t hold back with his prediction about what were happen were the two to fight.
“Destruction. Knockout, big time,”
Hrgovic has secured points wins over both Joe Joyce and David Adeleye in the last year, though he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in June 2024 and got a controversial points win over Zhilei Zhang in August 2022, so would pose a threat to Wardley if he was on his A-game.
He is one of several opponents Wardley is considering alongside the likes of Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, and has been called out by Agit Kabayel.
