Fabio Wardley`s newborn daughter is expected to arrive just in time to celebrate her father`s remarkable comeback victory.
The 30-year-old heavyweight from Ipswich has progressed from the amateur white-collar boxing circuit to headlining an event at Portman Road.
Credit: Getty
Credit: Getty
Credit: Reuters
However, for most of the fight, he delivered a performance that perhaps echoed the struggles local football fans witnessed as the `Tractor Boys` faced relegation.
The 26-year-old Australian, Justis Huni, appeared to be fully in control of the bout until Wardley delivered a stunning knockout in the 10th round.
A visibly battered and bruised Wardley expressed his gratitude: “I am so thankful to everyone here; you got me through that. I couldn`t have done it without you.”
He continued, “I`ve never claimed to be Usyk, with all the skills, but I know how to grit my teeth and find a way to win.”
“I should have performed better,” he admitted, “but I pulled something special out of the bag.”
“He showed so many facets to his game, and I didn`t expect him to win so many rounds. But I regained my focus and got the job done.”
The young Australian challenger caught the hometown hero`s attention early with a sharp two-jab combination, targeting both the body and head in the opening round.
Wardley responded with powerful right hands thrown with malicious intent, wearing his blue Mexican Fly gloves.
Even the fervent support of the Ipswich crowd couldn`t unsettle Huni, who grew in confidence in the second round, landing cleaner, more technical punches while Wardley seemed intent only on headhunting.
Three solid left hooks from Huni in the third round caused concern among the partisan crowd.
But then Wardley landed a spectacular punch that visibly shook Huni, sending him stumbling backward and covering up.
Huni dominated the fourth round, landing a precise one-two and clipping Wardley with a left hook.
Known for slow starts before his rapid knockout of Frazer Clarke, Wardley seemed to fall back into old habits.
Inexplicably, Wardley dropped his hands during the middle rounds, allowing Huni to repeatedly connect with clean shots to his face.
It was a surprisingly poor display from a fighter who had shown significant improvement in his previous fights. Huni`s right hands found their mark consistently, leaving the Englishman bloodied.
Wardley continued to act as a target for the next few rounds, perhaps receiving ineffective advice from his corner or choosing to ignore it.
Huni took the fight on just five weeks` notice and performed admirably, showcasing clever technical boxing and remarkable composure.
However, after losing almost every round in a disappointing performance, Wardley unleashed a powerful, decisive shot that sent Huni to the canvas, from which he could not recover.
Wardley is now the WBA `interim` champion. Oleksandr Usyk holds the full WBA title and is scheduled to defend it against Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley.
His Hall of Fame promoter, Frank Warren, confirmed that Wardley, the `comeback king`, is now the mandatory challenger for the winner of the Usyk vs. Dubois bout.
Credit: Reuters
