Fabio Wardley’s path to an undisputed heavyweight fight with Oleksandr Usyk appears to go straight through Daniel Dubois.
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Wardley will defend his WBO heavyweight title against Dubois in Manchester on Saturday, and Usyk’s team say a win there would bring him much closer to a future unification fight. The undefeated Usyk currently holds the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles after vacating the WBO belt earlier this year.
“If Fabio Wardley proves himself at the highest level, he can definitely become part of that conversation,” said Sergey Lapin. Sky Sports Boxing.
“Becoming a three-time undisputed heavyweight champion would be something historic, and Oleksandr is always motivated by the biggest challenges.
“At the same time, we are not building our plans around one name or one outcome. There are several strong contenders in the division, and we are focused on the biggest and most significant fights available.”
Wardley pushed himself into the heavyweight title picture with comeback wins over Joseph Parker and Justis Huni, but the Dubois fight is seen as a very different test due to Dubois’ strength and experience against top-level opposition.
Meanwhile, Usyk is preparing for next month’s fight against Rico Verhoeven in Giza before making decisions about his heavyweight future. Agit Kabayel is also being discussed as a possible opponent due to his WBC position.
“If it’s Fabio Wardley, it could potentially be undisputed. If it’s Agit Kabayel, it’s more likely to be a title defence.
“But we don’t like to look too far ahead. At the moment we have a fight with Rico Verhoeven, and all our focus is on that,” says Lapin.
Usyk has already gone uncontested at cruiserweight and twice at heavyweight, leaving his team to balance legacy fights with business opportunities at this late stage of his career.
“For many years, Oleksandr accepted fights based primarily on sporting value, often without focusing on the business side. He was busy building his legacy.
“Now it’s different. At this stage, both sports and business factors matter,” said Sergey.
Last updated on 2026/05/08 at 12:27
