Rather than engage in the calls, Wardley pointed to the pace of Itauma’s rise and the tendency for fans to move too quickly with young fighters.
“We as boxing fans love to be carried away with a story or a person, someone so young doing so much,” Wardley told The Stomping Ground about fans pushing for him to fight Itauma. “Early doors, it’s a bit like, ‘let’s slow it down’.”
It’s a smart play by Wardley to keep the focus where it belongs. While Moses Itauma is clearly the shiny new object of the heavyweight division, it would be a huge mistake to look past Daniel Dubois on May 9th.
Wardley is right about the fans and media getting ahead of themselves. We see a young knockout artist and want to see them in the elite right away, but there is a real risk of burning out a prospect before they’ve even peaked. Itauma is only 21, and as Wardley noted, the “validation” must come naturally through rounds and experience, not just hype.
If Wardley doesn’t get past Dubois at the Co-Op Live, his preferences regarding Itauma become secondary. A loss to Dubois would likely push Wardley back into a position where he actually needs a fight against a rising name like Itauma to regain his standing.
Both Wardley and Itauma are trained by Ben Davison and fight under Frank Warren’s Queensberry banner. Wardley said a lot that training “side-by-side” in the same gym makes a match almost impossible for now. This creates an awkward dynamic where their trainer would have to choose a side or walk away entirely, which neither fighter seems eager to force.
Wardley is focused on the biggest names in the sport, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk. From his perspective, Moses Itauma is a 21-year-old “prospect” (albeit a scary one).
While the boxing world is high on Itauma after his 5th round destruction of Jermaine Franklin, Wardley feels he has already paid his dues by beating Joseph Parker and Justis Huni. He doesn’t see the benefit of putting his belt on the line against a young powerhouse from his own gym when he’s potentially chasing undisputed status.
Wardley proposed a specific condition for the Itauma battle: Unification. He recently remarked that they should both go out, collect world titles and then meet when the game is at their absolute peak.
“Maybe if I have two first and he has two, then maybe we should have a serious discussion about it,” Fabio said of Itauma.
Wardley can’t afford to look at Itauma as he has a massive problem ahead of him on May 9. Dubois is a heavy-handed, elite heavyweight fresh off a war with Anthony Joshua. If Wardley loses that fight at the Co-Op Live, his “WBO Champion” leverage disappears, and the WBO might just order Itauma (their #1 contender) to fight for the title against whoever wins.
It’s a combination of gym loyalty and Wardley protecting his hard-earned seat at the top table. He wants Itauma to “grow” into the role, so the fight makes more financial and historical sense.
