British heavyweight star will live the dream of his longed-for homecoming fight when he faces American giant Jarrell Miller at Portman Road, the home of Ipswich Town FC, with the interim WBA World Heavyweight Championship on the line.
Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) heads into the fight with the voluble Brooklyn Boy fresh off his success against British rival Frazer Clarke in October, when the Olympian was blasted out inside a round over in Riyadh.
That quickfire triumph was a sequel to a thrilling draw in March of last year, which was voted ‘Fight of the Year’ at the recent BBBoC awards ceremony.
DAZN: Sign up to watch Hrgovic vs Joyce LIVE!
The Ipswich native became British champion in November 2022 by defeating Nathan Gorman and made a successful defence against David Adeleye in October 2023, a fight in which he also won the vacant Commonwealth championship and WBO European title, to add to the WBA Continental belt already in his possession.
Wardley is ranked highly by all the governing bodies, holding a No.1 ranking with the WBA, No.3 with the WBO and WBC and No.8 with the IBF. He is also listed at No.9 in the Ring Magazine ratings.
‘Big Baby’ Miller a huge obstacle
Miller (26-1-2, 22 KOs), known as Big Baby, propelled himself back onto the heavyweight frontline in 2023 with a victory over Lucas Browne, which resulted in a Riyadh Season call to take on Daniel Dubois at the end of the year.
The 36-year-old started strongly and applied huge pressure on the now IBF world champion, before his stamina faded in the later rounds and Dubois took advantage and secured a 10th round stoppage.
His display against Dubois earned him a Riyadh Season recall for the Los Angeles edition where he went up against former unified world champion Andy Ruiz at the BMO Stadium in August.
READ MORE: Hrgovic vs Joyce expert predictions, picks and big-fight analysis
Despite dominating the fight in the eyes of most observers. Miller was forced to accept a majority draw when the scorecards were revealed.
“On a personal note, it is a huge pleasure for me to deliver Fabio his dream of fighting at Portman Road,” said promoter Frank Warren. “It is what he has spoken about from day one of our alliance and I know how much Ipswich Town means to him.
“I believe this is the perfect fight for Fabio to take his next step because Miller is no easy pickings for anyone, especially given his size and front foot style. Fabio really is ‘Running Towards Adversity’!”
Wardley a proud ‘Tractor Boy’
An overjoyed Wardley said: “As a proud Tractor Boy born and bred in Ipswich, this is a dream come true for me. Fighting for a world title at Portman Road means everything to me. I’ve got a tough opponent in front of me, but that’s what I live for. I’m ready to dig deep, go to battle, and leave it all in the ring. Even more so than usual! It’s going to be a war, and I can’t wait to give my hometown crowd a spectacle they’ll never forget.”
Tickets for the big show go on presale to Ipswich Town FC season ticket holders at 1pm on Monday, 7 April and general sale at 1pm on Wednesday, 9 April available from itfc.co.uk.
There will be a launch press conference including both fighters on Monday April 7 at Portman Road, streamed live on DAZN and Queensberry’s social channels.
