Fabio Wardley: Lessons Learned Sparring Oleksandr Usyk – Now Gunning for His Throne
After spending some time training with Oleksandr Usyk, Fabio Wardley is now gunning for the undisputed heavyweight king’s crown.
Wardley shocked the world on October 25, scoring a shocking 11th-round knockout against Joseph Parker to claim the interim WBO heavyweight world title. Wardley was down six rounds when he unleashed an onslaught of strikes that prompted referee Howard Foster to step in and call for the stoppage.
While the finish itself sparked a heated debate on social media, Wardley isn’t interested in dwelling on the past. He’s looking forward to the future and feeling quite confident about his chances not only of securing a fight with Usyk but of becoming the first man to beat him.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Wardley revealed that he has a bit of history with Usyk, traveling to Ukraine in the infancy of his pro boxing career for a few sparring sessions with ‘The Cat.’
“I did two sparring camps out in Ukraine with him,” Wardley said. “It was probably about 2017, 2018. So it was a good while ago. A good seven, eight years ago. I was only three, four fights into maybe my professional career, something like that. So again, still very green, very novicey, very much kind of finding my feet and learning my way. But it was a fantastic experience.
“The first time I really went away for a sparring camp, but I guess I must have done something to impress him first time around cuz he had me back for a second go at things. So yeah, it was great to share the ring with him sparring and learn and just picked things up from such an early early point of my career.”
Fabio Wardley vs. Oleksandr Usyk already in the works
While no official announcements have been made, Queensbury Promotions’ founder Frank Warren revealed that conversations are already underway with March 2026 being eyed for the highly anticipated title tilt.
“The fight [between Usyk and Wardley] has been ordered, so there will be a period of negotiations now,” Warren said during the post-fight press conference. “And if we can’t reach an agreement, then it will go out for purse bids. I believe we will reach an agreement.”
As for where the fight takes place, Warren believes there are only two locations that make sense.
“I’d love it to be in the UK, but there are only two places for this fight, and that’s either in Riyadh or here in London, that’s it. I’d do it at Wembley Stadium and it would be a sell-out,” he added.
