Fabio Wardley believes Anthony Joshua will be too big a leap for Oleksandr Usyk when the pair square-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next month.
After the highly-anticipated heavyweight clash with Tyson Fury was put on hold due the Gypsy King being forced into a third bout with Deontay Wilder, Joshua will instead do battle with WBO mandatory challenger Usyk.
‘The Cat’ is unbeaten in his 18 professional fights so far and he defeated Derek Chisora in October last year. But fellow heavyweight Wardley has told Betfred TV's 'Boxing Show' that he believes Usyk has struggled with his transition from cruiserweight.
“I think he’s found that adjusting period into the heavyweight slightly more difficult than he initially anticipated," said Wardley.
“He has not pulled off the best performances since he’s been in the heavyweight division, so to then jump in with someone like Joshua, it’s quite a big leap. Not to say that Usyk doesn’t have the experience to deal with that but just going off what we have seen, that is where I’d edge it.”
Wardley himself is back in the ring this weekend as he faces Nick Webb at Fight Camp week 2 in Brentwood on Saturday. With a 100 per cent professional record, the 26-year-old comes into the fight with Webb as the clear favourite. The heavyweight outlined his hopes for this Saturday’s clash.
“[I’m hoping for] the same as you always get, a good energy fight, a good pace and obviously a good amount of power in there, and it would be good to top everything off with a knockout,” said Wardley.
Speaking about his opponent’s form, the heavyweight added: “He’s had a few ups and downs, he’s had a few losses that he’s had to come back from, and he’s done well.
“He’s coming off a good win, he’s going to have some confidence behind him so that should lead into a good fight.”
The Ipswich-born fighter feels that this fight is very unlikely to go all the way as a result of his and Webb’s record, saying: “With both me and Nick in the ring there is just no way it’s going to go the distance as we’re both knockout artists so we’re going to see how it goes.”
The fight between the pair is sure to be a spectacle, and Wardley will be brimming with confidence as he looks to maintain his impressive record by recording a 12th professional victory.
