The problem with convenience
Wardley is looking at Derek Chisora as a possible first defense. Tyson Fury called him out after announcing his return. These are names that sell tickets and make sense for a spring date. Itauma was supposed to fight Jermaine Franklin on January 24th, but an injury pushed it back to March 28th.
Warren works fast. Oleksandr Usyk holds the Ring Magazine title and the other three major belts. A fight with Usyk seems unlikely for Itauma at the moment. That leaves Wardley as the only realistic target for a quick title shot.
But Wardley isn’t interested in being part of the schedule.
“Don’t get me wrong, I want to see him do well, kick on and break that record too, but just not with my belt,” Wardley said. “Obviously I understand the interest of everybody who wants to look at us and see our two styles, see us as two fighters and say ‘yeah, it’ll be a good match’. But right now, nothing like that is going to come together just because of circumstances.”
When timing breaks
Wardley’s reasoning is patient. He believes the fight only happens when both men hold multiple titles and have to decide who runs the division. It could be years away.
“Ultimately, there’s still a lot out there for both of us to tick off before we ever really have to look at each other seriously,” he said. “I know I have one world title and he’s hoping to get another, but that still leaves two others out there to grab. So look, maybe if I have two and he has two, then maybe we should have a serious conversation about it.”
The problem is the record Warren is chasing doesn’t wait. July is the deadline. If Itauma misses Franklin in March and needs another fight before a title shot, close the window. Wardley’s plan assumes that everyone can afford to wait. Warren’s timeline says otherwise.
Itauma has 19 knockouts in 13 fights. He hits hard enough to scare better opponents than Franklin. Wardley has one loss on his record if you count the draw with Frazer Clarke as half of one. He learns what it means to hold a title when someone younger and faster comes after you.
The gym relationship complicates this. Training next to someone makes it harder to sell the fight later. But it also makes it harder to avoid. If Itauma keeps winning and Warren keeps pushing, Wardley’s options narrow.
