Newly crowned WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley insists he still wants to earn the right to be called a world champion, despite being elevated to full titleholder status after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt.
Wardley claimed the WBO interim heavyweight title on October 25 with a hard-fought win over Joseph Parker, becoming Usyk’s mandatory challenger. But with the Ukrainian star opting to relinquish the WBO strap, the British fighter was promoted to undisputed champion — a situation Wardley believes fans don’t always embrace.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the 30-year-old admitted he still feels he has more to prove.
“It’s always nicer to do it properly, do it in the ring, have the belt handed to you, shake hands with your opponent after and say ‘look, good fight, thank you’,” Wardley said.
“They don’t like it when the belts, in their eyes, just get handed about if people relinquish them,” he added. “So there’s a level of earning it I will still have to do.”
Wardley also expressed frustration that Usyk did not vacate the title earlier.
“If Usyk would have relinquished the title three or four weeks ago, it would have been on the line for the Joseph Parker fight,” he said.
After defeating Parker, Wardley immediately called out Oleksandr Usyk, hoping to fight for the undisputed crown. Promoter Frank Warren confirmed that talks with Usyk’s team had already begun, and the bout was tentatively targeted for the first half of 2026.
However, the Ukrainian champion ultimately declined the fight and relinquished the WBO belt — ending his status as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Usyk remains the reigning WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight champion, keeping three major titles.
Wardley now becomes the 11th British heavyweight world champion, and he says his mission is to validate his championship status inside the ring.
