Top boxing promoter Eddie Hearn says Suffolk star Fabio Wardley is ‘a great new contender’ on the red-hot British heavyweight scene.
Ipswich puncher Wardley lifted the English heavyweight title on Saturday night with a third round stoppage of the much more experienced Simon Vallily at the first Matchroom Boxing Fight Camp in Brentwood, an event shown live on Sky Sports.
Wardley, 25, moved his career record to 9-0 with the win, with eight straight stoppage victories.
And he’s now very much a player on the packed British big man scene. Tyson Fury, whom Wardley’s sparred with in the past, and Anthony Joshua hold all the world titles between them, while top prospects Daniel DuBois and Joe Joyce meet in an all-British blockbuster later this year. Wardley’s manager Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora, both former sparring partners of the Suffolk stylist, are also world-class British heavyweights.
Below them, Ex-Chantry High School pupil Wardley’s now swimming in a pool with the likes of Nathan Gorman, Dave Allen, and David Price.
And Hearn says he’s excited by the possibilities for Wardley, a former youth team player at Ipswich Town.
The super promoter said: “I think that he now starts to move into those brackets of the Joyces and the Dubois. He’s got some work to do, English heavyweight champion, he’s a couple of fights away from that now, but I think we’ve got a great new contender on the British heavyweight scene.
“He’s exciting, he looks great, he talks well and he’s handsome as well.
“It’s exciting, especially coming from that part of Britain - let’s be honest, over the years East Anglia hasn’t produced a number of great heavyweights. I think there’s a great little division and area of the country that can support him there, and I think the public can get behind him as well.
“It’s always great when we see a young British heavyweight come on the scene.”
Wardley, Suffolk’s first major boxing title holder since Steve Spartacus won the English light heavyweight belt in 2003, has previously spoken about his dream of one day fighting at Portman Road, home of his beloved Blues – and with each win that he picks up, that dream looks more and more realistic.
Speaking last year, he said: “I would love to fight at Portman Road one day. It’s something that me and my family and coaches have spoken about, and it’s something that I’d love to do. It’s not a million miles off either - you see fighters boxing in football stadiums quite a lot these days.”
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