Oleksandr Usyk ‘has holes’ in his game… Fabio Wardley on sparring the legend and potential future clash

EXCLUSIVE: Fabio Wardley has his sights set on Oleksandr Usyk.

On Saturday night, the power puncher will battle it out with Joseph Parker in a titanic heavyweight clash at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Fabio Wardley wants Oleksandr Usyk fight

Blessed with dynamite in his hands and formidable powers of self-belief, Fabio Wardley is determined to defeat his upcoming opponent and secure a clash with Oleksandr Usyk, claiming he has what it takes to get the job done.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, the Mirafit athlete, said: “He’s a generational talent. He’s a very special fighter. Obviously, he conquered the cruiserweight division and then stepped up and conquered the heavyweight division. He’s very much the cream of the crop, the top of the table. So, between me and the team, we’re going to have to pull out all the stops and produce something fantastic.

“I think there are holes there. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not the easiest to exploit. There’s no getting around it, he is a great operator. So, while you may be able to see some gaps and holes, exploiting them in the fight on the night is a different thing entirely. But, I have full faith in my team that we could pull off an upset like that.”

From the moment he first set foot inside a boxing gym, Wardley fell in love with the sport, jumping at every opportunity that was thrown his way, ultimately leading to a trip to Eastern Europe to train with the now heavyweight world champion. And bizarrely, it wasn’t just the southpaw he had to worry about.

Wardley chuckled: “When I turned up a number of years ago, first time going abroad as a sparring partner for Oleksandr Usyk. I turned up to his training facility in Ukraine, hopped out of the car, and just to the left of me there was two bears in a pen to the side of me. I was like, ‘What’s going on’? So, I was trying to speak to the driver and he didn’t speak too much English. I was like, ‘Mate, there’s just bears there’. He was like, ‘Yeah, bears’. I replied, ‘Why are you so casual’?”

When asked whether the bears or the boxing icon were scarier, the Englishman replied: “That’s a tough one. Maybe Usyk inside the ring. Outside of the ring, he’s a true gent.”

Fabio Wardley reflects on his time in white-collar boxing

Reaching the top level of boxing is extremely tough for those who’ve dedicated their life to honing the craft, never mind those who started fighting as adults. Yet, somehow, Wardley went from competing in white-collar to becoming one of the best on the planet.

He reminisced: “It’s funny when you pair those two things together because people are always trying to picture the fighter I am now jumping into the ring with those white-collar guys back then, and that wasn’t the case. Back in the day, I was very green. Some of them white-collar fights, even I look back on myself and cringe a little bit about how gangly I was. It was great, I was finding my way and myself as a boxer.”

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Fabio Wardley teams up with Mirafit

With Wardley quickly cementing his status as one of the best in the business, he’s teamed up with leading home-gym supplier, Mirafit, to take his training to the next level.

The heavy-handed athlete explained: “They are a fantastic brand and great to be partnered with. Alongside my boxing, there is a large proportion of my training that is strength and conditioning. They have a bunch of different equipment and ways I can make that transition easier. Things are molded to the type of training I’m doing. They’ve got some excellent equipment that’s solid and durable. With someone like me, a big guy throwing around weights, you’ve got to make sure they’re holding together nice and strong. It’s been great since we’ve been together.”

Featured Image Credit: Mirafit