‘I’m not here for easy fights’: Fabio Wardley says it’s his character to take toughest challenges available

Fabio Wardley wants a shot at the top dog at heavyweight. | Getty Images

Fabio Wardley is set to defend his heavyweight world title against Daniel Dubois on May 9 and talking about the fight with DAZN, Wardley touches on not feeling completely satisfied by having been elevated to world champion rather than win it in the ring, and also why he feels like this fight will provide him the moment he missed out on. Here’s some excerpts of what he had to say below.

Wardley on being a world champion

“It feels great. It’s nice, but also it’s just a title. Like, don’t get me wrong, that’s not to take away from it in the slightest, at all. But it is just a title. There’s a bit of me that is — obviously being called a world champion and a feeling there of it — but unfortunately having to miss the moment of being crowned in the ring, holding the belt up, hearing ‘and the new’ and all that, does take away slightly. And, again, that is no disrespect to the world title in and of itself.”

On why fighting Dubois was the right choice for his first title defense

“There are easier, but what for? For what? I looked at the list of heavyweights, them top guys in the world, and you look at the top echelon — I call them the big three, your Fury, your Usyk, your AJ — those things for whatever reason are unavailable. Okay, who’s under that? To me, was Daniel Dubois. And I was like okay, if he’s the next best one then that’s the one we’re going after…I pick the best guy out there.

“I’m not here for easy fights. I know myself and I know my character and I would actually be disappointed in myself because I would know ‘I picked that fight because it’s easier’…That’s not me, one as a person, but two as a fighter.”

On if he learned anything about himself in the Parker fight

“It really solidified to me that I’m meant to be here. I was in that fight and I didn’t feel out of my depth, at all. I felt comfortable…I was in the fight thinking ‘hang on, I don’t feel like I’m fighting for my life here, like I’m surviving, just trying to make it through’…I felt like if he’s second best in the world or however you want to rank him, if I’m going toe to toe with him and feeling fine with myself, where does that put me? So, yeah, it just really kind of nailed down to me that I’m meant to be there, at the top end of the division.”