WBO heavyweight world champion Fabio Wardley has shared his thoughts on Tyson Fury’s quest for heavyweight supremacy ahead of his return this Saturday.
WBO heavyweight world champion Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19ko’s) has his own test against former world champion Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21ko’s) in May, but the man from Ipswich will be keeping a keen eye on Saturday night.
Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24ko’s) makes his return after a sixteen month hiatus against Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19ko’s) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Whilst 60,000 people will be in attendance in North London, this is just the first small step in a planned major return for the Gypsy King, and Fabio Wardley may just be a major part in this.
Wardley holds a valuable piece of the heavyweight crown, and whilst Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 14ko’s) is still regarded as number one, the Ukrainian has declared his time left in the sport is limited.
Nicknamed as ‘War’, Wardley has had a famous rise to the top, and is desperate for that Usyk fight, but could a matchup with the Gypsy King be more commercially viable?
Speaking to BBC Sport, Wardley shared his thoughts on the value of Tyson Fury and his chances of becoming a three time heavyweight champion.
Wardley stated: “He is the biggest crossover star in British boxing”.
“[He is] the guy with his own Netflix reality show, the guy who fought in the WWE”.
“I didn’t really feel like he was gone, more that he was just taking a break, as he does. When he said he was retired, I thought: “We’ll see you in a year.”
But although it’s good to have him back in a boxing ring, in the current state of the heavyweight division, I can’t see how Fury becomes a world champion again.
“He would have to fight either me or Usyk – and do I think he can beat either of us? No.”
“If the titles get fractured, if Usyk is stripped of a belt for one reason or another,” he added.
“[If] Fury fights someone like Lawrence Okolie or Agit Kabayel for a vacant title, then yes, he can become champion.”
The Gypsy King has been recently pushing for the long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua (29-4, 27ko’s), with talks for September being reported.
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