‘My Netflix title would be white collar to world champion’: Fabio Wardley on his boxing journey | Donald McRae

Former Ipswich academy footballer fights Joseph Parker hoping victory will secure a title shot at Oleksandr Usyk, with whom he once sparred in Ukraine

“Joseph Parker was a world heavyweight champion in 2016 when I was still having white‑collar fights,” Fabio Wardley says of the contrasting career paths he and his opponent have taken before their crucial bout at the O₂ in London on Saturday. “So it’s been a wild, wild journey for us to reach this point. And if I get through this fight I’ll get a chance to meet Oleksandr Usyk. Fighting Usyk for the world title would be a funny story, remembering how I went to Ukraine to spar him seven years ago. It would feel like I’ve come full circle.”

We’re sitting in the back room of a gym in Wardley’s home town of Ipswich and the amiable and intelligent 30‑year‑old, who is unbeaten after 20 professional contests, allows himself to get a little excited before confronting the serious threat of Parker. He nods when I suggest that it sounds like an outlandish boxing movie or overheated drama series.