The Boxing Truth®: Fabio Wardley

Showing posts with label Fabio Wardley. Show all posts

Monday, June 9, 2025

On The Brink Of Defeat: Wardley Finds KO Punch

The circumstances that led to the Heavyweight bout between unbeaten top Heavyweight contenders Fabio Wardley and Justis Huni on June 7th at the Portman Road Football Ground in Ipswich, England was not ideal for either boxer. Due to the fact that it was made on short notice where Huni stepped in for the injured Jarrell Miller, neither man had the type of preparation that they would likely prefer going into a fight.

When one throws into the equation rainy conditions outdoors, one may not have known what to expect. In terms of styles, this was an adjustment for Wardley, who had been preparing to face a power puncher like himself in Miller, now tasked with facing a more balanced boxer/puncher in Huni. While the perception when fights like this are made on short notice is the fighter stepping into a fight is at a disadvantage, this was a case where one could say it was truly unknown as to having an idea of what could happen with one fighter having the type of punching power that is sudden and devastating going against a fighter that could do a little of everything.

For a significant portion of this bout, it was Huni’s Boxing ability that was on full display. Consistently getting his punches off first, often throwing in combination, and backing the power puncher Wardley up, Huni dictated the combat and frequently landed flush right hands to the head. Gradually, it appeared that it was Huni that had the edge and if one were unaware of the circumstances, they might have assumed that it was Wardley, who stepped into the fight on short notice and not the other way around.

With each passing round, Huni continued to dominate the action. After eight rounds, this observer, as I often do, shared how I was seeing things in real time on X (Formerly Twitter) and said that Huni had won the fight on my unofficial scorecard having won seven of eight rounds of the scheduled twelve round bout. In terms of points, Wardley was behind to a point that he would likely need a knockout to win the fight. Yours truly commented that Wardley might have a punch in him to turn things around, but it also appeared that he was struggling due to both fatigue and the punishment that Huni had dished out and I questioned whether he would be able to go the distance.

If one were objective, there was little evidence that there would be a sudden change as Huni continued to bring the fight to Wardley in the ninth round. Having covered thousands of fights on every level of the sport over the last three decades and being a Boxing lifer long before I began my journey as a writer and began covering combat sports, I had learned long ago that you can never truly dismiss the possibility of a sudden turn, but with Huni dominating to the degree he was, it seemed unlikely that Wardley would be able to land that fight changing punch.

What by all accounts looked to be certain victory for Huni would change in the type of fashion that should remind even the most jaded cynic what makes Boxing great. In an exchange of punches at the midway point in the tenth round, Wardley connected with an overhand right that came out of nowhere and seemed to be thrown in desperation, which landed flush and sent Huni down hard on the canvas. Huni struggled and was unable to beat the count. On the brink of what appeared to be certain defeat, Fabio Wardley found the knockout punch that gave him the most dramatic win of his career.

The certainty that Wardley needed a knockout to remain unbeaten can be illustrated in the official scorecards in that he was down by six points on two official scorecards and on five on the third entering the tenth round. As dramatic a victory and an illustration of the type of power Wardley is blessed with, if one is objective, they would say that Wardley, his handlers, and supporters got a legitimate scare.

Although Wardley maintained his number one ranking in the WBA’s Heavyweight ratings having retained Interim/Regular champion status as the contender currently in position as the World Boxing Association’s mandatory challenger with this victory, he was unable to make the type of statement that would give the impression that he is ready to fight for a world title. Yes, he did get a knockout in the purest sense of the word, however, one might argue that it is Justis Huni who comes out of this fight having made a convincing argument as a potential challenger down the line for either of the Heavyweight division’s two world champions Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.

With Usyk and Dubois preparing for their rematch for the Undisputed Heavyweight championship of the world on July 19th, and assuming that there might be a third fight between the two in the future per a rematch clause, Waedley may not get an opportunity to fight for the title in the near future. If Wardley is going to fight again before the end of 2025, an obvious option would be to give Justis Huni a rematch. As brutal as the knockout was, Huni has earned another opportunity and Wardley and his team will likely want to quell the questions that will likely be asked coming out of this fight and the best way to do that is by giving Huni a rematch.

“And That's The Boxing Truth,"

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Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Wardley-Huni Preview

As the Boxing world prepares for the reunification of the Heavyweight division, which will come when the two champions of the division Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois meet in July in a highly anticipated rematch, this time for the Undisputed Heavyweight championship of the world, focus has begun to take shape in regard to the potential challengers that might follow for the winner of that fight. Recently, we saw the fast-rising Moses Itauma score his twelfth victory in his career by scoring a devastating knockout of Mike Balogun on May 24th. Itauma, who is rated in the top three in the Heavyweight division in both the WBO and the WBA rankings, may be on the short list of potential challengers for either Usyk or Dubois.

On June 7th, however, another Heavyweight who could also be a potential option will return to action. This observer is referring to undefeated WBA number one rated Heavyweight contender Fabio Wardley, who will face fellow unbeaten Heavyweight Justis Huni in a scheduled twelve round bout where Interim/Regular champion status in the WBA rankings, or in lay language the mandatory challenger position will be at stake. The fight, which will be held at the Portman Road Football Ground in Ipswich, England can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN.

This is an interesting fight in a couple of aspects. One, it is always intriguing when two unbeaten Heavyweights square off against each other, but in this case, there is a slight wrinkle attached here. The wrinkle being that Wardley was originally scheduled to face one-time Heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller, who had to withdraw from the fight due to a shoulder injury. With Miller out, in steps Justis Huni, who took the fight on one month’s notice.

There have of course been countless scenarios throughout Boxing history where a fighter has stepped in with limited time to prepare, in some cases mere days before a scheduled bout, but whenever there is a chance with such a narrow timeframe to prepare, it is as much an adjustment for the fighter stepping in on short notice as it is for the fighter, whose scheduled opponent fell out. Some might say this fight being made with one month to prepare makes things more interesting. Not only does this fight now feature two unbeaten fighters against each other, but in terms of a clash of styles, this now has the dynamic of a puncher in Wardley, (18-0,1, with 17 Knockouts) who has knocked out seventeen of his nineteen opponents, registering a career knockout percentage just under 95% going against more of a boxer in Huni (12-0, with 7 Knockouts) than would have been the case had Jarrell Miller, a fighter also known for punching power, had not withdrawn due to injury.

While Huni has more experience going deeper into fights compared to his opponent, he does have some punching power in his own right having stopped nearly 59% of his opponents. Whether or not his punching power will come into the equation here remains to be seen, but logic suggests that he will try and extend Wardley into the deep waters of this fight by trying to box him rather than trading punches, which is always a crap shoot, especially in the Heavyweight division.

Something one should keep in mind here is Fabio Wardley has only been the distance twice in his career earning a win and a draw in those two outings and has only been twelve rounds once and that was in the draw against Fraser Clarke in March of last year. Although that statistic may ultimately prove to be moot, it is something that for the moment seems on the surface as though it could be a factor due to the circumstances in the change of opponent for him. On the other side of the equation, Huni , after winning regional titles including the Pan-Pacific Heavyweight title, recognized by the IBF and the Oriental Heavyweight title, recognized by the WBO, this fight represents a step up against the hardest hitting opponent of his career. If he is successful, it will obviously put him right in line to face the winner of the Usyk-Dubois rematch and, despite being unbeaten, it might be a strong enough argument to be next in line as many will view it as an upset.

With the Usyk-Dubois rematch around the corner, the spotlight will be focused on the Heavyweight division for the next several weeks with not only this fight, but also former WBC Heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder preparing to make a comeback later in June as well. Will it be Wardley or Huni that will emerge victorious? We will find out Saturday, June 7th.

“And That's The Boxing Truth."

Wardley vs. Huni takes place on Saturday,June 7th at Portman Road Football Ground in Ipswich, England. The fight as well as it's full undercard can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming networks DAZN beginning at 11:30AM ET/8:30AM PT with Before The Bell, which will feature preliminary bouts. The main card will begin at 2PM ET/11AM PT.

(*U.S. Times Only.* Card and Start Times Subject to Change*)

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Saturday, August 7, 2021

Galahad Stops Dickens In 11 In Rematch At Matchroom Fight Camp

Longtime contender Kid Galahad made the transition from contender to world champion by stopping a “Game” but overmatched James Dickens to win the IBF Featherweight world championship on Saturday night at Matchroom Headquarters in Brentwood, England. A rematch from 2013 when the two met for the British Jr. Featherweight championship, which was won by Galahad in ten rounds, the second encounter between the two would have a similar outcome.

From the outset, Galahad implemented a very tactical approach that had an emphasis on both being active with his offense, but also accurate with the punches he threw. Dickens suffered a cut over the left eye in the first round as a result of an accidental clash of heads. This in addition to not being able to nullify Galahad’s hand speed and movement continued to worsen as the fight progressed.

By the middle rounds, the accumulation of punishment became more visible and it appeared as though the combinations that Galahad was able to land also may have resulted in Dickens suffering a broken nose as well. After eleven rounds of mostly one way punishment, Dickens’ corner stopped the fight at the conclusion of round eleven to prevent him from suffering further punishment. Kid Galahad advances to 28-1, with 17 Knockouts. James Dickens falls to 30-4, with 11 Knockouts.

Also on this card:

Undefeated English Heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley scored a first round knockout of Nick Webb. Webb started the fight aggressively in trying to bring the fight to Wardley. In the midst of an exchange of punches, Wardley stunned Webb with a hook to the head. This oppened an opportunity for the champion to unleash a barrage of punches that sent Webb down into a corner of the ring and prompting a stoppage of the fight. Official time of the stoppage was 2:30 of round one. Fabio Wardley advances to 12-0, with 11 Knockouts. Nick Webb falls to 17-3, with 13 Knockouts.

In a Heavyweight slugfest unbeaten Alen Babic remained perfect by outlasting a “Game” Mark Bennett in scoring a fifth round stoppage. From the opening bell, both fighters were willing to stand and go toe to toe with just about every variation of offense one can think of. The near non-stop brawl continued with Babic gradually getting the better of the exchanges. By round five and fighting the effects of both exhaustion and an opponent that would not let him off the hook, Bennett barely managed to finish the round. Although he never was knocked down, the effects of the punishment, particularly the roundhouse hooks with both hands to the head became too much for Bennett’s corner to ignore and they stopped the fight at the conclusion of the fifth round to prevent him from further punishment. Alen Babic advances to 8-0, with 8 Knockouts. Mark Bennett falls to 7-2, with 1 Knockout.

Undefeated Heavyweight Johnny Fisher scored a second round stoppage of Danny Whitaker. Fisher stunned Whitaker with a right hand to the head that sent him down on one knee. Fisher was sent down for a second time moments later with another right hand. Sensing his opponent could not recover, Fisher pressed forward following the second knockdown and a follow up barrage seemed as though it would send Whitaker down for a third time, but the bout was halted before that could happen. Official time of the stoppage was 1:08 of round two. Johnny Fisher advances to 3-0, with 3 Knockouts. Danny Whitaker falls to 4-4, with 0 Knockouts.

Women’s Bantamweight contender Ebanie Bridges scored a third round stoppage of Bec Connolly. Bridges was in control from the outset and while the early portion of the bout was uneventful, Bridges quickly changed that in round three connecting with a flush right uppercut to the head that sent Connolly down to the canvas. Connolly was able to get up from the knockdown, but a follow up overhand right from Bridges was enough to continue Referee Kieran McCann to stop the fight. Official time of the stoppage was 1:22 of round three. Ebanie Bridges advances to 6-1, with 3 Knockouts. Bec Connolly falls to 3-10, with 0 Knockouts.

Rising Jr. Lightweight prospect Aqib Fiaz began the evening with a hard fought eight round decision over Kevin Baldospino. A fight that was competitive throughout and saw several exchanges, Fiaz’ greater work rate particularly over the first four rounds was ultimately enough to secure a one point victory on the scorecard of the lone judge of the bout as all non-title fights held in the United Kingdom and Ireland that do not have an impact on regional or world rankings the Referee Kieran McCann, who scored the bout 77-76 in his favor Aqib Fiaz advances to 7-0, with 0 Knockouts. Kevin Baldospino falls to 9-6-2, with 1 Knockout.

Although the main story of the second week of Matchroom Boxing’s second season of its Fight Camp series will be Kid Galahad’s successfully becoming a world champion in what is becoming a rapidly crowded 126lb. Featherweight division, this card also saw the rising careers of three unbeaten Heavyweight prospects at similar stages in their development, which served as the bulk of this evening of Boxing, and the fact that all three prospects were able to score knockouts in their respective bouts should be an indication that the future is bright in regard to the British and European levels of the division and it might not be too long before we are talking about all three Fabio Wardley, Alen Babic, and Johnny Fisher as potential world contenders in due time.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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Friday, August 6, 2021

Matchroom Fight Camp 2021 Week 2 Weights

The official weigh-in for Saturday’s second week of the 2021 Matchroom Fight Camp series took place earlier today in Brentwood, England at Matchroom Headquarters. Weights for the entire card, which can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN and will be headlined by a rematch between Kid Galahad and James Dickens for the vacant IBF Featherweight world championship are as follows.

Main Event: Vacant IBF Featherweight World Championship – 12Rds.

Kid Galahad 126lbs. vs. James Dickens 125 1/2lbs.

English Heavyweight Championship – 10Rds.

Fabio Wardley (Champion) 235 1/2lbs. vs. Nick Webb 256lbs.

Heavyweight – 8Rds.

Alen Babic 210lbs.vs. Mark Bennett 272 1/2lbs.

Heavyweight – 4Rds.

Johnny Fisher 239 1/2lbs. vs. Danny Whitaker 259 1/2lbs.

Women’s Bantamweight – 8Rds.

Ebanie Bridges 118 3/4lbs. vs. Bec Connolly 119lbs.

Jr. Lightweight – 8Rds.

Kevin Baldospino 131 1/2lbs. vs. Aqib Fiaz 131 3/4lbs.

Matchroom Fight Camp: Galahad vs. Dickens II takes place on Saturday, August 7^th at Matchroom Headquarters in Brentwood, England. The entire card can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN beginning at 1PM ET/10AM PT with an hour long Before The Bell preliminary show, which will feature a portion of preliminary bouts before the remainder of the card begins at 2PM ET/11AM PT (U.S, Times.) For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices/platforms/Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe please visit: www.DAZN.com.

*Card Subject To Change

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Thursday, August 5, 2021

Previewing Matchroom Fight Camp Season 2 Week 2

The second season of Matchroom Boxing’s Fight Camp series kicked off in a big way on July 31^st at Matchroom Headquarters in Brentwood, England. As this observer stated in his post-coverage of week 1, the sales hook for this series is relatively simple “No Easy Fights.” Although not originally intended, the first two weeks of this season will be headlined by bouts that could have a potential impact on the near future of the 126lb. Featherweight division. As most know, in week 1, British Featherweight champion Leigh Wood significantly stepped up in caliber of opposition and due to circumstances of COVID-19 saw himself in the main event against WBA mandatory challenger Xu Can. Wood turned in the best performance of his career in out Boxing Can over twelve rounds before dropping him in dramatic fashion in the final round, which led to a stoppage with seconds remaining in the fight.

This indirectly sets the stage for the main event of week 2 of Matchroom Fight Camp 2021 as the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight world championship will be at stake when Kid Galahad meets James Dickens in a rematch of a bout in 2013 in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds on Saturday, August 7^th. In some ways, this fight has similarities to the Can-Wood bout as Galahad has experience in having previously challenged for a world championship in June 2019 in losing a twelve round split decision to then IBF champion Josh Warrington. Galahad gave a good account of himself in defeat and now finds himself in position to challenge for the IBF championship again, only this time the crown is vacated. In his last fight, Galahad got back to his winning ways by scoring an eighth round stoppage of Claudio Marrero in February of last year.

Even though Galahad has what may amount to a confidence booster and an experience edge in having challenged for a world championship before in coming up short by a narrow margin on the scorecards, as well as knowing he defeated Dickens once before in winning the then vacant British Jr. Featherweight championship in 2013, James Dickens finds himself in a position coming into this fight that is not all that unlike the one Leigh Wood was in prior to his bout against Xu Can. In thirty-three professional bouts, Dickens has a solid record of 30-3, with 11 Knockouts and in fact has more fights than Galahad, who will enter the bout with a record of 27-1, with 16 Knockouts.

Dickens has gone on to win both the IBF and World Boxing Organization’s (WBO) respective versions of the European Featherweight championship in his career since the loss to Galahad and does hold a victory over Leigh Wood in February of last year. Despite this and what Wood was able to accomplish last week in stopping Xu Can, which might put things in a different light depending on one’s perspective, some might say that Dickens is still in the position of stepping up in class of opposition in this fight against Galahad.

In the eyes of this observer, this fight is well-matched and could end up being difficult to score due to the similarities of the two fighters respective styles. Despite what happened the first time these two met in 2013 with Galahad stopping Dickens in ten rounds, it certainly is not hard to envision the ebb and flow potentially shifting multiple times throughout the twelve round world championship bout as this is an encounter between two boxer/punchers. One should keep in mind that nearly eight years have past from the first encounter between these two fighters and both have evolved over time.What has all the appearance of what could be a close tactical battle just might come down to which fighter is able to establish the tempo and how long they are able to sustain it that might determine who will win this fight and become the new IBF Featherweight world champion.

Week 2 of Matchroom Fight Camp will feature two interesting Heavyweight bouts featuring two unbeaten prospects that could be potential opponents down the line if they are able to win in their respective bouts on this card. The first of these bouts will see Fabio Wardley making the first defense of his English Heavyweight championship against Nick Webb in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds.

For those unfamiliar with the regional championships structure on the British level of the sport, the holder of an English championship in a given weight class is usually one step away from challenging for either British or Commonwealth championships before personably setting sights on European championships or world championship opportunities. Unlike some fighters who have an English championship however, Wardley has already had some success in testing the waters against world level competition as he scored a knockout win against former multi-time world title challenger Eric Molina in March of this year.

In eleven professional bouts, Wardley has scored knockouts in ten of those bouts registering a career knockout percentage of nearly 91%. As both impressive and intimidating as that statistic is and might be for potential opponents preparing to face Wardley, like most fighters who are able to begin their careers with a string of often quick knockouts, the question of who might be able to provide the fighter with a test is inevitably asked. Some including this observer felt that given Eric Molina’s vast experience in being a longtime contender that challenged for versions of the World Heavyweight championship on two occasions might have been the first to give Wardley such a test.

This was simply not the case as he was not able to provide Wardley with much resistance and was gradually broken down before being knocked out in the fifth round. The victory over Molina for Wardley did indicate that he might be contending on the world level of the Heavyweight division sooner rather than later. Before that can be explored however, he will defend his English championship against Nick Webb.

Webb will enter the bout having won seventeen of nineteen professional bouts and does have more total rounds as compared to Wardley’s thirty total rounds boxed, having boxed forty-four total rounds un his career. Although Webb will enter this bout having won his last four bouts and scoring knockouts in two of those bouts, he has been knocked out in his two career defeats and the question/task he will face in this fight is both simple and easier said than done. Will he be able to extend Wardley into the middle and late rounds of this fight and can he avoid Wardley’s power in doing so.

Obviously, yours truly cannot provide the answer, but until a fighter is able to extend Wardley into the deep waters of a fight and/or answer questions regarding how he will respond to being hurt and/or knocked down, the task that Webb has at hand will essentially be the same for future Wardley opponents.

The second Heavyweight bout that will be featured on this card will feature unbeaten prospect Alen Babic facing once beaten Mark Bennett. A scheduled distance for this bout has not been announced as of this writing, but much like Fabio Wardley, Babic has established a reputation for scoring quick knockouts in stopping all seven of his previous opponents in three rounds or less. While the questions that surround Fabio Wardley can easily be applied as well to Babic, one might argue that he might not face much resistance in this fight and may even go a step further by saying the yet to be announced scheduled distance of this bout might not matter.

Despite entering this bout with a respectable record of having won seven of his eight career bouts, Mark Bennett has only one career knockout in his career and his one career loss came in his last bout a three round decision loss in December 2019 to the man who will be challenging Fabio Wardley on this same card Nick Webb in the finals of an Ultimate Boxxer Heavyweight tournament.

While bouts held under the Ultimate Boxxer tournament format do not follow the traditional professional Boxing format in terms of round distances, the task Bennett will have here is to avoid Babic’s power. Babic is a come forward fighter that has in previous fights thrown each punch with the intention of ending matters. Although it is certainly logical to think Babic will look to implement a similar approach here as it has not worked against him thus far, it will be interesting to see if Bennett will be able to establish a pace that might answer some questions regarding Babic’s conditioning over the course of a fight if the seek and destroy approach does not work in the early rounds as has been the case in his career to this point.

A card that features a world championship bout as well as two Heavyweight bouts with very similar scenarios going in seems to have the ingredients for the type of card that the Matchroom Fight Camp series has become known for. Exciting action where the fan can expect to be entertained, but also should not rule out seeing unexpected outcomes. We will see what this edition of Matchroom Fight Camp Season 2 has in store on Saturday, August 7^th.