WBO heavyweight champion Wardley has a title defense to get through first on May 9th, but he’s openly targeting Deontay Wilder as the fight that would take him into the U.S. and into a different bracket of attention. It’s not subtle matchmaking. It’s a power test. He made that clear when outlining his thinking.
“We would love to [fight Wilder]. He was one that was on the list before Daniel, both him and Derek Chisora, funnily enough,” said Wardley to The Stomping Ground.
“I have ticked off a lot of milestones in my career, but one thing that I haven’t done is fought in America and done one of the big ones, whether that be MSG, whether that be in Las Vegas.
“If I am going to do that, I need a big name to do it with, and who better at the moment, in terms of my division and in America, than Deontay Wilder?”
That tells you the plan. Beat Daniel Dubois, then cash in the belt with a dangerous name rather than wait around.
Wilder still carries that reputation. Forty-three knockouts from 45 wins built it, and even now, he remains the division’s most obvious risk-reward opponent. Wardley’s numbers aren’t far off either, with 19 stoppages in 20 wins, so the appeal sells itself without much effort. Wardley didn’t shy away from how he sees it playing out either.
“I would be more of that, just a lot cleaner and probably a bit more of decisive victory for me,” Wardley said.
There’s confidence there, maybe a bit too much given what’s in front of him. Dubois isn’t a formality. He’s younger, proven at world level, and hits hard enough to end things himself. Fans calling it a 50-50 fight aren’t reaching.
That’s the part Wardley has to get right. Talk of Oleksandr Usyk, Wilder, and American venues only holds if he gets through the next four weeks intact. The big fight he’s chasing is one step ahead of the one he can’t afford to get wrong.
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