Wardley Names Wilder as Target No.3 — "Get Those Names on My Resume"

• WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley has named Deontay Wilder as his third priority target behind Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk
• Wardley defends his WBO belt against Dubois on May 9 in Manchester — but he's already thinking three fights ahead
• The WBO champion also urged Derek Chisora to retire after watching the Wilder war at The O2, calling it a proper heavyweight throwback

Wardley's Hit List Is Growing

Right then. While everyone was arguing about whether Deontay Wilder deserved the split decision over Derek Chisora at The O2, Fabio Wardley was quietly taking notes. The WBO heavyweight champion has come out and named Wilder as his number three target — behind Daniel Dubois on May 9 and Oleksandr Usyk after that — and he's not being shy about it. Wardley told Ring Magazine that he would welcome a fight with Wilder to "get those names on my resume." That's a confident statement from a man who hasn't lost a professional fight and currently holds the WBO strap. But confidence is something Wardley has never been short of. He watched Wilder labour through twelve rounds with Chisora in London and saw exactly what the rest of us saw: a faded puncher who can still land the right hand but whose legs and stamina are not what they were. Make no mistake — Wardley fancies that fight. And he should.

Dubois First, Then the World

Before any talk of Wilder becomes real, Wardley has business to handle. His mandatory defence against Daniel Dubois is set for May 9 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, and that's a proper heavyweight fight. Dubois has the power to hurt anyone on the planet, and after his performance against Anthony Joshua, he's proved he belongs at the top table. Wardley knows the Dubois fight is the one that defines his championship. Win that, and the world opens up. Lose it, and the Wilder conversation becomes irrelevant. The WBO champion has been sparring consistently and his camp in Essex has been focused and sharp. He's not looking past Dubois — but he's clearly got a roadmap beyond it. After Dubois, Wardley wants Usyk. That's the ultimate test — the undisputed champion who has beaten everyone put in front of him. Wardley respects Usyk enormously, but he believes the size difference at heavyweight gives him an avenue to victory that most men at 200lbs simply don't have. Wardley walks around at 240. He's big, he's young, and he punches hard enough to change any fight with one shot.

Why Wilder Makes Sense at Number Three

Let's not beat around the bush — Wilder at 40 years old is not the same fighter who knocked out Luis Ortiz or flattened Dominic Breazeale in one round. The Chisora fight showed that clearly. He was tagged repeatedly, he was outworked in the clinches, and he relied almost entirely on the right hand to survive rounds where he was second best. The split decision was generous — I had Chisora winning by a round. But here's why Wilder still matters: the name. In heavyweight boxing, names sell tickets and build legacies. Wardley beating Wilder — even a 40-year-old version — puts a former WBC champion on his record. It's a fight that Sky Sports would snap up in a heartbeat. It's a fight that fills an arena in London or Ipswich. And it's a fight where Wardley would be a strong favourite, which is exactly the kind of calculated risk a young champion should be taking. Wardley also urged Chisora to retire after watching the war at The O2. He called it a brilliant fight but said that at 42, after 50 professional bouts, Chisora has nothing left to prove. That's a fair assessment, and it came from a place of respect. Wardley grew up watching Del Boy. He knows what those fights cost.

My Take

I'm backing Wardley to beat Dubois in May and then I want to see him chase Usyk. If Wilder is still around after that, then yes — book it. It's a class fight on paper, and Wardley wins it on points. The WBO champion is faster, younger, and more complete than the Wilder we saw at The O2. The right hand is always a threat, but Wardley moves well enough to avoid it. The heavyweight division is in a brilliant place right now. You've got Usyk at the top, Wardley and Dubois fighting for the WBO, Wilder and Joshua circling each other, and Moses Itauma coming through like a freight train. Wardley naming his targets publicly is a proper champion's move. He's not hiding behind mandatories. He wants the biggest names, and he's saying it out loud. If you know, you know — Fabio Wardley is the real deal at heavyweight. The next six months will prove it.