Wardley shared his reaction when the match was confirmed.
“Yeah, look, I think it was the same as kind of the rest of the boxing world, it was pretty overwhelming.”
He expected the undisputed champion to face an active professional boxer rather than a crossover opponent.
“I even said it myself, I understand that he kind of earned the right to do what you want, but I at least expected it to be some kind of active boxer, someone of a caliber, of a professional boxer.”
Wardley admitted he doesn’t follow kickboxing closely, but still expected a traditional heavyweight challenger.
“Not to say I actually don’t know much about Verhoeven in terms of a kickboxer, what his quality level is.”
The British heavyweight also addressed the WBC belt attached to the fight.
“Is it particularly fair? Is Verhoeven ranked anywhere in the WBC? I don’t know. Or was he before? I don’t think so.”
Wardley said the situation reflected the unpredictable nature of the sport.
“But unfortunately it is what it is. The game is the game. Boxing will always be boxing.”
He added that heavyweight matches often move quickly and rarely follow early expectations.
“In boxing you just never know, anything can happen. Because look, from one month we thought it was me, the next month we thought it was Wilder, a month after that we thought it was Andy Ruiz, and now it turns out that it’s the kickboxer Verhoeven.”
Wardley said the only approach is to concentrate on his own career while waiting to see how the heavyweight division develops.
“So all I stay focused on is my career, I’m performing, winning, looking good, and then hopefully that battle will be over.”
