Today the undisputed king of the premier category of boxing is Oleksandr Usyk and the rest feeds on what he leaves behind. The Ukrainian has opted for a fight against the famous kickboxer Rico Verhoeven and to follow this path he was forced to leave vacant WBO titlethe same one that had been his and he recovered by winning Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) with another of his exhibitions.
Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs), for his part, won against the odds in a fight for the WBO interim title against Joseph Parker. He won in the eleventh round by TKO after a premature stoppage for some, but showing off his numerous virtues. There is no doubt that English is a ‘beast’ when he smells blood and is capable of putting in very tough combinationswhich makes him one of the most dangerous fighters in the heavyweight category.
The fact is that when Usyk renounced the WBO champion belt, it passed into the hands of Wardley. Thus we have arrived at a combat between the two British titans (Saturday, DAZN PPV, €21.99, 11:30 p.m.)who however are considered two ‘supporting actors’, especially Wardley, who until he successfully defends the title will not feel like a real champion. ‘Dynamite’ Dubois rose to the top ranks after knocking out Anthony Joshuabut he went down completely after being ‘bullfighted’ by Usyk and admitting that He had not been at what he should have been in the days before the fight. The winner of this duel in Manchester will earn a privileged place and in principle will have to face the young Moses Itauma.
It is time to redeem himself for Dubois, a more complete boxer than his rival and who has already risen strongly from his defeats against Usyk – his first – and Joe Joyce. Two forces of nature collide and everything seems headed for a premature end, before the cards are reached. The fight has been sold under the slogan ‘Don’t blink’ for obvious reasons. Wardley faces the most dangerous puncher he has ever faced but has shown cleverness so far.