Ipswich heavyweight talent Fabio Wardley has clocked up two highlight reel knock-out wins at the O2 Arena in just over a month – now he wants a title.
Wardley, 24, separated Frenchman Morgan Dessaux from his senses with a perfectly-placed uppercut inside a round, live on Sky Sports on Saturday night.
The quickfire win came barely a month after he made his big show debut at the O2, stopping the durable Phil Williams and knocking him through the ropes in three rounds.
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Former Chantry High student Wardley is now 6-0 as a pro, with five knock-outs, and hopes to fight for the first title of his promising career back at the O2 on April 20, on the undercard of his manager Dillian Whyte.
“The Southern Area title isn’t too much of a jump up,” said the confident Suffolk stylist. “We’ll go for that and see what happens.”
Of his impressive win over Dessaux, Wardley added: “It was good, nice to get a bit more time in the ring when there’s people in the arena, get that feeling and know what it’s like to hear people cheering and shouting.
“The fight was great. There’s two sides to getting an early stoppage like that – I want to get time in the ring, but at the same time I want to stop people and get highlight reel KO’s.
“I always want someone who’s going to give me some rounds because that’s what I need – time in that ring, and getting that experience. We thought Morgan would do that, but ultimately I just found the gap earlier than expected.”
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Wardley’s post fight interview on Sky saw him praised by both his mentor Whyte and super-promoter Eddie Hearn, both of whom are tipping the unbeaten Ipswich man – who finished Dessaux a round quicker than Ricky Hatton’s 15-0 prospect Nathan Gorman – for a bright future in the hurt game.
“It’s a sign that we’re getting more exposure and interest,” Wardley said. “Eddie Hearn likes what he sees – Dillian already knew, but Eddie’s on board now and knows what a big future I could have.
“My team and I feel like I’ve always had these capabilities, I just needed the right manager and the right platform to show these skills off.
“I’m really getting the right opportunities to show what I can do now – and people are taking notice.”
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