Having previously expressed strong interest in facing the winner, Oleksandr Usyk has now given his final verdict on the upcoming heavyweight showdown between Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois.
The two fighters are set to headline a Queensberry Promotions pay-per-view event later today, with Wardley making the first defense of his WBO world title at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. He was elevated from interim to full champion late last year, shortly after Usyk vacated the belt rather than face his mandatory challenger at the time.
Since then, the Ukrainian has included the winner of tonight’s intriguing clash in his three-fight plan, fully expecting to defeat kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23. Usyk has already faced Dubois twice, with both bouts ending early as he proved to be a class above. The most recent victory stripped Dubois of his IBF title last July, ending his impressive run of stoppage wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua.
From both Usyk’s and the fans’ perspectives, it would be more intriguing for the heavyweight king to face Wardley after their respective outings this month. This may partly explain why the 39-year-old is backing Wardley this weekend, predicting that his former sparring partner will retain his WBO title.
“I think Wardley win. I want Fabio win because I think he deserves to win this fight. Good guy – I like him,” Usyk said.
While Wardley is also eager for their potential showdown to materialise later this year, Usyk is under pressure to address his WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel following his fight with Verhoeven later this month.
