FLOAT LIKE A BEE WINNER IN PLAIN SIGHT
Clarke in March 2024 before scoring a sickening knockout in the first round of their rematch that October. “Big Fraze” sported a visible jaw injury after being left out of his feet by Wardley’s blows. In his next fight, a homecoming showdown with the then-unbeaten Huni at Ipswich Town soccer stadium. Wardley lost nearly every round before landing a sledgehammer overhand right in the 10th to poleaxe the Australian. Then came the finest night of his career so far and one that leaves the 31-year-old within touching distance of boxing immortality in 2026. Joseph
you. He found out how hard sparring was. But after that, he just never left the gym.” The broad brush of Wardley’s career paints an irresistible picture. From “white-collar” – which isn’t friendly amateur boxing competition between doctors, lawyers and executives, as the name suggests – to the cusp of a world title. A modern-day Rocky story, featuring a throwback fighter with a granite jaw and dynamite in his fists. But this is not a fun-time slugger rolling the dice; there are many finer details to underestimate at your peril.
was the first time that you saw a bit of everything that Fab’s got. He showed he had quick feet, he showed he had quick hands, he showed his power, but you also saw that he’s got a chin and he’s got a heart. You’ve seen bits of that beforehand, but this was a fight where it all came together against Joseph Parker.” I n 2018, harboring frustrations over a stalled fledgling career on the small-hall scene, Wardley called Whyte for advice during his long drive back from a sparring session. He was invited back for a few more rounds
Parker’s wins over Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole had put him next in line for Usyk. He entered the ring against Wardley at the O2 Arena as the clear betting favorite and was ahead on the cards. But Wardley hurt him in the second round, buzzed him regularly and did more notable damage during the closing seconds of the 10th. Under a Wardley onslaught in the
and further conversations, at which point “The Bodysnatcher” came on board in a managerial capacity. Fight No. 5 of Fabio’s career was his first outing at the O2 Arena, on the undercard of Whyte and Chisora’s thrilling rematch. It was the start of one of Wardley’s most consequential relationships in boxing and led, indirectly, to another. Taken under Whyte’s wing, Fabio became a regular fixture on Matchroom
“He showed he had quick feet, he showed he had quick hands, he showed his power, but you also saw that he’s got a chin and he’s got a heart.”
next session, when Parker did not offer enough of a response to satisfy Howard Foster, the referee waved it off. Wardley collapsed on the floor and was embraced by an ecstatic Hodgins. H odgins and Brennan have been with Wardley ever since he stepped into their gym as a gangly, ambitious and fearless youngster over a decade ago. Perhaps a little too fearless. “One of the first times he came in, the first or second time, he asked to spar,” Brennan says. “And I’m like, ‘You’re crazy. You’re not sparring. It takes a good three, four, five months...’ And then I turned around – we used to have two rings in our gym, I’m watching one ring – and next thing you know, he’s pushed himself in there to spar the amateurs in the other ring. So he literally had the confidence from day one.” Hodgins takes up the story: “I would like to say that he did extremely well on that spar, but that would be lying to
An almost unnoticed progression to 4-0 as a young professional who had bouts pulled more often than he fought brought Wardley to the brink of turning his back on boxing, but this man with no amateur credentials and no professional experience of any note was already being called in as a sparring partner for Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte. He had something. He always has. For example, the Parker fight was one his team earmarked as a winnable assignment for a couple of years prior to getting the job done. “That’s where he’s different. You can teach someone how to box and you can teach them to be more powerful and you can teach them to be quicker on their feet,” Brennan says. “Fab’s got those attributes and he’s improved on all that, but things like the heart and the determination and his mind, that’s all natural, and a lot of those skills you just can’t teach. “That’s why we believe he’s built differently, and I think the last fight
cards. One such occasion came in the COVID-necessitated surroundings of Gibraltar for Whyte’s rematch win over Alexander Povetkin in March 2021. On that undercard, Wardley overcame former world title challenger Eric Molina in five rounds to move to 11-0. “We came back, Fab sat me down and said ‘Look, Rob. We’re both learning on the job; I do think we need extra help,’” Hodgins recalls. “We went through the history of boxing where Angelo Dundee would help out with Sugar Ray Leonard, Ray Arcel would help out with Roberto Duran’s coach.” Their top pick for the Dundee/Arcel role was Ben Davison. For his July 2022 fight with Chris Healey, Wardley traveled to Davison’s base in Harlow, Essex, for weekly sessions. A second- round stoppage followed, from which point a closer union developed between Wardley, Hodgins, Brennan, Davison and the latter’s esteemed video analyst, Lee Wylie. “Fabio invests in himself,” Davison
Wardley’s power was decisive in the late rounds against Parker.
says. “He has a nutritionist. He has a strength and conditioning coach. He already had a boxing coach in Rob. He’s then brought us on board. And he travels to and from Ipswich to come here to do those sessions. I know you have a promoter, but part of the job is for you to promote yourself as well. He films his content. He’s got guys on his social media. “When he leaves the gym, it’s not just ‘job done.’ He’s focused and he watches the scout reports, videos, analysis. Whatever it is that we’ve put together for him, he’s on that. That’s the important stuff. I feel like a lot of
simultaneously two of the most praised and criticized coaches in British boxing. Success stories such as former WBA featherweight titleholder Leigh Wood, Wardley and fast-rising heavyweight Moses Itauma make their approach tough to argue against. However, high-profile defeats such as Anthony Joshua’s shellacking at the hands of Daniel Dubois in September 2024 gave proponents of the old school an opportunity to stick the boot in. Davison bristles at the idea that he and Wylie are complicating the noble art. On the contrary, the aim is to simplify the grave demands upon
fighters, they walk into the gym, do their couple of hours, leave and then that’s job done. That’s not enough, nowhere near enough for you to maximize your potential.” T he training methods that Davison and Wylie have honed in Harlow, featuring focused video study and repeatedly drilling scenarios in the gym, have made them
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