Fabio Wardley: Daniel Dubois? Moses Itauma? Who will be new WBO heavyweight champion’s first defence | Boxing News

Fabio Wardley will box in early spring next year and could make a defence of the WBO world title against former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

Ipswich’s Wardley, a ‘white collar’ boxer who has become a professional sensation, stopped Joseph Parker to win the WBO Interim strap and become mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk though has now vacated the WBO world title and Wardley has been elevated to full world champion.

“When you look at him it’s a bit like a Cinderella story what he’s come from,” Wardley’s promoter Frank Warren told Sky Sports. “No amateur background and champion of the world.

“He’s done it learning on the job, God bless him and good luck to him.”

Wardley is now expected fight next in the first half of 2026.

“Next for him will be a defence of the title so he’ll have someone who’s ranked in the top 10,” Warren said. “Hopefully we’ll do that early spring.”

A mouth-watering clash with British rival Daniel Dubois, who is No 5 with the WBO, is a potential option, with other contenders like Filip Hrgovic and Derek Chisora also highly ranked.

“They are all good fights. You never see him in a boring fight. Every time he gets in the ring it’s pure excitement. His last three knockouts, they would probably be number one, two and three knockouts of the year in whatever way you want to put them. He’s sensational, he’s shown what he’s all about,” Warren said.

“He should be very proud of himself, I’m certainly proud of him. He will fight one of those guys. That’s what it’s going to be, a big fight for him. That’s all he’s looked for. He’s never ducked anybody, that’s all he’s talked about, is big fights.”

If Moses Itauma beats American contender Jermaine Franklin when they fight on January 24, the young Briton would become the mandatory challenger for Wardley’s WBO belt.

But both Itauma and Wardley work with the same trainer Ben Davison. That would complicate making a potential match-up between the two.

“It does. If they [the WBO] order it, they may not do it, it may not happen. They share a trainer and it’s certainly not something we’re looking at right this moment,” Warren said.

Wardley is an exciting fighter, who put in a star-making performance when he rallied to take out Parker.

With Wardley a new heavyweight world champion, Anthony Joshua or even Tyson Fury might now be interested in taking him on.

“They may do. I don’t know if AJ will want it but I’d much rather that he’d be fighting Fabio than fighting Jake [Paul],” Warren noted. “But he’s doing what he’s doing.”

AJ’s other option

Joshua had American heavyweight Cassius Chaney on his shortlist before accepting a surprise fight with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in Miami next month.

Two-time unified world heavyweight champion Joshua has now confirmed he will fight Paul in Miami on Friday December 19. It will be Joshua’s first fight since his IBF world title challenge in September of last year ended in a knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois.

Paul is an unexpected opponent for Joshua, who won Olympic gold at super-heavyweight in 2012, and Chaney has confirmed that he was on a shortlist of potential opponents for Joshua to fight next.

The 38-year-old Chaney from Baltimore has fought at heavyweight throughout his pro career, which began in 2015. He has 24 wins, with three defeats in 27 bouts, and has never been stopped.

Chaney’s most notable victory was a knockout win over Trevor Bryan, a former WBA heavyweight title holder in 2023.

He told Sky Sports that he was hoping to secure a potential fight against Joshua on this weekend’s David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde bill in Saudi Arabia.

“It sucks to lose a great opportunity but it’s okay, it’s the business,” Chaney told Sky Sports. “I’m happy to be knocking at the door. Everything works out in the end.”