WBO heavweight champion Fabio Wardley says he will be “ready and waiting” for the challenge of Tyson Fury if the “Gypsy King” can beat Arslanbek Makhmudov in his comeback fight.
Fury will come out of retirement for the fifth time as he fights Russian boxer Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 11 April.
It will be the first fight for Fury since announcing his retirement from boxing at the start of 2025, following back-to-back defeats to former undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Wardley, meanwhile, will face Daniel Dubois in Manchester on 9 May in his first title defence since being elevated to world champion, which came after Usyk gave up the belt.
The Ipswich-bred bruiser, who stunned Joseph Parker with a late knockout in his last bout, is already looking beyond the test of Dubois and has opened the door to a “Battle of Britain” of sorts against the returning Fury.
“I had an open invitation to him at the start of the year before he signed up for his fight with Makhmudov and before I even signed my fight with Daniel,” Wardley told Sky Sports. “I said look if you want to go straightaway we can go straightaway, it’s no bother.
“But if he wants a little warm-up and he wants to get through that and see how he feels, blah, blah, blah, then cool, no bother to me. I’ll still be ready and waiting after I’m done with Daniel for a massive fight.”
Wardley is unbeaten as a professional (20-0-1, 19 KOs) and the Brit will put that record on the line against Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) in the spring, along with his title.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) has been training in Thailand and will be the favourite against Canada-based Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs), who outfought Dave Allen in Sheffield last time out.
Fury had been lined up to face Anthony Joshua later in 2026, though “AJ” has put his boxing career on hold after surviving a fatal car crash in Nigeria, which killed two of his closest friends.
