Fabio Wardley will take the next step on his road towards world heavyweight title glory on Saturday night – but not against the man he expected to face.
The 30-year-old big hitter from Ipswich (18-0-1) had been expecting to throw down with American man mountain Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller, until he pulled out with a shoulder injury.
Now Wardley will meet highly-rated Australian prospect Justis Huni (12-0) on the biggest night of his career so far – in front of a huge crowd at Ipswich Town’s Portman Road football stadium.
Fighting at the home of his favourite team is a dream homecoming for Wardley, who was simply devastating last time out as he stopped Frazer Clarke inside a round in their rematch in Saudi Arabia last October.
Fabio is not worried at all by taking a new opponent at short notice, he believes that problem is something Huni will have to deal with on Saturday night (live on DAZN).
Wardley unpredictability an asset
Speaking in an interview on Queensberry Promotions YouTube channel, he said: “I think anyone that’s planning on taking on me, near or in any notice, is at a disadvantage because one thing about my style is it’s unpredictable. I think sometimes I, I don’t know what I’m doing in there. I figure it out on the fly. And I think that’s kinda what makes me entertaining, what makes me spicy, because you don’t know necessarily what you’re gonna get. I don’t know what I’m gonna get sometimes. I’m in there and I do something like, oh, that worked pretty well, let’s keep on that.
“So, the thing is with me, trying to find maybe a sparring partner or a way to watch my fights and replicate – because you look at my fights, and maybe the Adeleye fight, but then you look at the Frazer fight, they’re two very different fights. And then you look at the second Frazer fight, and it’s all over in one round. And then you’re like, hang on, which Fabio Wardley is gonna turn up? So there’s multiple facets to me, multiple areas to my game. Erm, so, I don’t think, erm, I don’t think taking me, especially on short notice, is ideal for anyone at all.”
Huni claims he will use a lot of movement to counter Wardley’s power on Saturday night, but Fabio expects that gameplan to unravel.
“Yeah, he, that’s what he says. From little previews of his fight, he does also like to get stuck in. And there’s one thing I can do with an opponent – it’s draw them into a fight. I can make them feel comfortable, make them feel like, ooh, you know what, I might, there, give ’em a bit, make ’em eager to have a go and suck them into that.”
One thing Wardley deals with on a constant basis is fighting ‘more decorated amateurs’, having himself come up through the white-collar scene in the UK. Again, it’s not something that worries him at all.
Huni gameplan could unravel
“Yeah, it is always the very much same old story about, oh, this is the decorated amateur, he’s won this as an amateur, and he’s done that as an amateur. But also, the slight difference here with Justis is he is proven in the heavyweights, in professional rankings as well – number one with the WBO. Moved in, he’s in the, high in the WBA, he’s high across the other governing bodies as well. So he’s, he’s done some proving within the rankings as well, within that professional heavyweight scene.
“So, him to turn up on the night – I do think this will be a bit of a different one for him. Bit of a different occasion, bit of a different moment. And I think he might just not be able to help himself but want to get stuck in.
