Fabio Wardley Eyes U.S. Debut, Madison Square Garden Discussed

Fabio Wardley stopped Justis Huni and Joseph Parker inside the distance last year, picked up an interim strap that became the full WBO belt when Usyk walked away from it. That is how these things happen at heavyweight. Someone vacates, someone else inherits the alphabet, and now Wardley is positioned as a titleholder without having fought a true number one contender.

He talks about wanting Madison Square Garden. Fair enough. But first, there is the question of who he fights next and whether that opponent will actually show up.

The British Possibilities

Tyson Fury’s name comes up. Fury has been out since his second loss to Usyk and mentioned Wardley in recent interviews with Declan Taylor of  The Ring. But Fury’s team knows better than to throw him straight in with a puncher like Wardley after more than a year away from the ring. That fight might exist later in 2026 if both sides still want it and if Fury looks sharp enough to justify it after a warm-up.

Derek Chisora is the more realistic option. He is approaching fight number fifty and has somehow stretched his career into relevance again with three straight wins over Washington, Joyce, and Wallin. None of those wins suggest he is ready to challenge for a real title, but they were solid enough performances against names people recognize. Chisora understands timing and knows how to use his last few fights to secure paydays. Whether he sees value in facing Wardley right now is unclear. He has his own ideas about how his career should end, and those plans do not always line up with what promoters or other fighters need from him.

Wardley says the Chisora fight is the most realistic one on his list. That tells you where the heavyweight division sits right now. A reigning WBO champion’s best available domestic defense is against a forty-year-old who has been stopped multiple times and is counting down his final appearances.

What About the American Market?

Wardley wants the United States. Madison Square Garden specifically. That requires an American opponent worth the trouble. Deontay Wilder was the obvious target, but Wilder is negotiating with Usyk and may not take another fight before that one happens or falls apart. Jarrell Miller was supposed to fight Wardley last June before pulling out with an injury. Miller remains a name that could fill a card in New York, but his stock has dropped considerably over the past few years. His suspensions and inconsistent performances have made him less appealing as a serious contender, though he still carries enough profile to make a fight in Brooklyn or Manhattan workable.

There are not many American heavyweights who make sense for Wardley right now. The top guys are either locked into their own negotiations or not interested in facing a puncher with a live title. The division is thin, and most of the real fights happen between the same handful of names recycling opponents every eighteen months.

Where This Leaves Wardley

He has a title. He wants to defend it multiple times this year. But the heavyweight calendar does not move that fast anymore. Fighters take voluntary defenses against low-risk opponents, stall negotiations, or wait for mandatory orders that never seem to arrive on schedule. Wardley might get two fights in 2026 if he is lucky. One of those will probably be Chisora or someone similar. The other could be in the States if a suitable opponent materializes and if the WBO does not force him into a mandatory before he gets there.

The problem is not Wardley. He has shown he can fight at a high level and finish opponents when opportunities present themselves. The problem is that being a WBO heavyweight champion in 2026 does not guarantee meaningful fights. It guarantees negotiations, delays, and sanctioning body politics that drag out for months.