Fabio Wardley
British boxer (born 1994)
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Fabio Wardley (born 18 December 1994) is a British professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) heavyweight title from 2025 to May 2026. He also held the World Boxing Association (WBA) interim heavyweight title in 2025. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Commonwealth titles between 2022 and 2025.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 December 1994 Ipswich, Suffolk, England |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
| Weight | Heavyweight |
| Boxing career | |
| Reach | 78 in (198 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 22 |
| Wins | 20 |
| Win by KO | 19 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
In 2025, Wardley swept British Fighter of the Year honours from ESPN, Boxing News, and British Boxing News, with his knockout of Justis Huni also earning Knockout of the Year recognition from each outlet.[1][2][3][4]
Amateur career
Wardley began boxing at the late age of 21, going on to compete in four white-collar boxing shows.[5]
Professional career
Early career
Wardley turned professional in 2017 at the age of 22, having signed with Mervyn Turner's Shamrock Boxing Promotions.[6] In his first bout he defeated Jakob Wojcik by decision at York Hall.[5] In November 2018, with a 4–0 record and 3 consecutive first round knockouts, Wardley left Shamrock Promotions and signed with fellow British heavyweight and sparring partner Dillian Whyte, who became his manager.[7]
He claimed the vacant English heavyweight title when he beat Simon Vallily by third-round knockout on 1 August 2020.[8][9]
British and Commonwealth champion
Wardley vs. Gorman
Wardley won the British heavyweight title on 26 November 2022 by forcing a corner stoppage in the third round against Nathan Gorman.[10][11]
Wardley vs. Adeleye
On 28 October 2023, Wardley fought David Adeleye on the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou contest in Saudi Arabia with the vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title, Wardley's British championship and Adeleye's WBO European heavyweight belt and WBA intercontinental heavyweight title all up for grabs. Wardley won the fight via TKO in the seventh round.[12][13]
Wardley vs. Clarke
On 31 March 2024, he retained his four titles with a split decision draw against Frazer Clarke at The O2 Arena in London. One ringside judge scored the fight 114–113 to Wardley, another had it 115–112 for Clarke while the third ruled the contest a 113–113 tie.[14][15][16]
Wardley vs. Clarke II
In August 2024, Wardley signed a multi-fight deal with Frank Warren's Queensbury Promotions,[17] ahead of a rematch with Clarke at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol on 12 October 2024. Wardley won by devastating knockout in the first round. Clarke suffered a broken jaw and visible skull deformation following the bout.[18][19][20][21]
Wardley vacated his British title in March 2025 after being named as mandatory challenger for the WBA regular heavyweight championship held by Kubrat Pulev.[22]
WBA and WBO interim heavyweight champion
Wardley vs. Huni
He faced Justis Huni for the WBA interim heavyweight title at Portman Road in Ipswich on 7 June 2025. Originally, he was set to face Jarrell Miller for the title, but Miller pulled out on 30 April, citing a shoulder injury.[23] Huni outboxed Wardley for nine rounds and was well ahead on the scorecards before Wardley suddenly knocked him out in the tenth round with an overhand right, winning the title.[24]
Wardley vs. Parker
On 25 October 2025, Wardley beat former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker in the eleventh round via TKO. After stunning Parker and forcing him against the ropes, Wardley unleashed a barrage of punches that prompted referee Howard Foster to stop the fight. With this victory, Wardley captured the WBO interim heavyweight title.[25]
WBO heavyweight champion
Wardley was promoted to full WBO heavyweight champion on 17 November 2025 when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title after being ordered to face him.[26][27]
Wardley vs. Dubois
Wardley was scheduled to make a voluntary first defence of his WBO heavyweight title against former IBF heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England, on 9 May 2026.[28]
On the night of the fight, Wardley started the first round aggressively, knocking Dubois down just ten seconds into the contest with a clean right hand. He followed this up by dropping Dubois again in the third round. However, Dubois gradually took control of the centre of the ring as the fight progressed. By the later rounds, Wardley began to tire and suffered significant swelling to his right eye as a result of repeated shots to the face. The contest ended in the eleventh round when, after continuous power shots from Dubois, the referee intervened to save a defenceless Wardley from further punishment. Dubois was declared the winner via technical knockout, claiming the WBO title to become a two-time world heavyweight champion.[29]
Personal life
Wardley is a lifelong fan of local team Ipswich Town F.C..[30] He told BBC Radio Suffolk in October 2024 that it was his 'dream' to fight at Ipswich Town's home ground of Portman Road,[31] which he eventually achieved with his knockout victory over Justis Huni on 7 June 2025.[32]
Professional boxing record
| 22 fights | 20 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 19 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Loss | 20–1–1 | Daniel Dubois | TKO | 11 (12), 0:28 | 9 May 2026 | Co-op Live, Manchester, England | Lost WBO heavyweight title |
| 21 | Win | 20–0–1 | Joseph Parker | TKO | 11 (12), 1:54 | 25 Oct 2025 | The O2 Arena, London, England | Won WBO interim heavyweight title |
| 20 | Win | 19–0–1 | Justis Huni | KO | 10 (12), 1:42 | 7 Jun 2025 | Portman Road, Ipswich, England | Won vacant WBA interim heavyweight title |
| 19 | Win | 18–0–1 | Frazer Clarke | TKO | 1 (12), 2:28 | 12 Oct 2024 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Retained British, Commonwealth, and WBA Continental heavyweight titles |
| 18 | Draw | 17–0–1 | Frazer Clarke | SD | 12 | 31 Mar 2024 | The O2 Arena, London, England | Retained British, Commonwealth, WBA Continental, and WBO European heavyweight titles |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | David Adeleye | TKO | 7 (12), 2:43 | 28 Oct 2023 | Boulevard Hall, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Retained British, and WBA Continental heavyweight titles; Won WBO European, and vacant Commonwealth heavyweight titles |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Michael Polite Coffie | TKO | 4 (10), 0:45 | 1 Apr 2023 | The O2 Arena, London, England | Won vacant WBA Continental heavyweight title |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Nathan Gorman | TKO | 3 (12), 0:32 | 26 Nov 2022 | Wembley Arena, London, England | Won vacant British heavyweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Chris Healey | TKO | 2 (8), 0:40 | 9 Jul 2022 | The O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Daniel Martz | KO | 2 (10), 1:30 | 27 Feb 2022 | The O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Nick Webb | KO | 1 (10), 2:30 | 7 Aug 2021 | Matchroom Headquarters, Brentwood, England | Retained English heavyweight title |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Éric Molina | KO | 5 (10), 0:52 | 27 Mar 2021 | Europa Point Sports Complex, Gibraltar | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Richard Lartey | TKO | 2 (10), 1:22 | 21 Nov 2020 | Wembley Arena, London, England | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Simon Vallily | TKO | 3 (10), 1:01 | 1 Aug 2020 | Matchroom Headquarters, Brentwood, England | Won vacant English heavyweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Mariano Ruben Diaz Strunz | TKO | 6 (8), 1:06 | 20 Jul 2019 | The O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Dennis Lewandowski | TKO | 3 (8), 2:35 | 10 May 2019 | Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Morgan Dessaux | TKO | 1 (6), 1:43 | 2 Feb 2019 | The O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Phil Williams | TKO | 3 (4), 1:58 | 22 Dec 2018 | The O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Ferenc Zsalek | KO | 1 (6), 1:41 | 26 May 2018 | Corn Exchange, Ipswich, England | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Scott Saward | KO | 1 (4), 2:54 | 18 Nov 2017 | Epic Centre, Norwich, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Zheko Zhekov | TKO | 1 (4), 2:46 | 22 Jul 2017 | Epic Centre, Norwich, England | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jakub Wójcicki | PTS | 4 | 8 Apr 2017 | York Hall, London, England |
Titles in boxing
Major world titles
- WBO heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
Interim world titles
Regional/International titles
- Commonwealth heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
- British heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
- WBO European heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
- WBA Continental heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
- English heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)