Fabio Wardley is not short on confidence as he heads into a big year of defences of his WBO heavyweight crown.
Wardley did not win his belt in the ring. He was promoted to full champion after his last win and is now keen to show the world what he can do with some big names in 2026.
He famously has no amateur background and came up through the white-collar ranks, but the 31-year-old has now won 20 of his 21 fights, 19 by stoppage, and with just one draw against Frazer Clarke, which he later avenged with a first-round KO.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the unbeaten Wardley stated he is more than up for facing Tyson Fury this year.
“I think being open [to negotiations] might be a bit of an understatement. I’d be extremely keen to see if he’s genuine about it or not. He may be looking at it like it might be an easy touch for him to roll out of retirement, come into a fight, pick up a world title and go on to bigger things, but as fighters of late have found out, I’m quite the banana skin.
“I’d back myself against anyone in this division. That much has been proven about me. No matter the fighter, the occasion, the night, the event, or even how the fight in itself is going, I’m always in there with a chance. I’m not going to give up until I hear that final bell.”
Wardley is no stranger to entering the ring as an underdog, which is where he found himself in his last fight with Joseph Parker. Despite Parker seemingly being ahead on the cards, Wardley found some big shots and ended the contest in the late rounds, and would likely look to do the same against Fury were they to fight.
