Fabio Wardley is the hardest hitter at HW, and the dark horse of the division

It's that whole "stiff upright Eastern European" stereotype that lots of lazy fans and commentators fall into. Wlad was one of the most athletic and natural outboxers the HW division has seen. He was only really stiff near the end of his career and only if you took him out of his comfort zone. But that's not generally what's meant with that statement.

 

I quite like Wardley. Obvious vulnerabilities but loves a tear up which makes his fights exciting, similar to Wilder. What's not to like?

Dubois, Itauma, and now Wardley. Good to see the next generation of Brit HWs coming through and hopefully we see less of Fury, AJ and Whyte now.

 

Miller could get brutalised by Wardley. We've already seen Miller hurt and stopped by Dubois, and Wardley isn't a million miles away from him in either skills or punching power. A fight between the type would probably look quite similar now that I think about it.

 

He's a BUM DOSSER

People getting erect over power are chumps. Skills pay the bills.

Always the case in boxing, the guys with power get reveered early unduly then they get chinned off or their faces boxed off. Wardley will get KO'd himself with that defence or just simply outboxed with ease.

Wardley is 30...keep taking punishment which he will have to, to earn a shot and he will be chinny by the time he gets that shot.

 

Was just going to compare him as another Joyce albeit has some better boxing skills. Gets hit way too much.

Dubois, Fury, AJ, Kabayel ko him. Usyk batters him badly. He may beat a declining Big Bang. Bakole, Ajagja, who knows. Probably too soon for Utauma to fight him so that point is moot.

Why is Hrgovic on this list? He's done.

 

I'd call him the most devastating combination puncher in the division, if not the hardest one-punch hitter. When he has a fighter hurt he has a really great balance between killer instinct and composure that makes him instantly jump on his opponent like a shark smelling blood, but the reserve not to go spastic on them with wild haymakers or smothered work.

 

Wardley can’t fight off the back-foot I think Chisora would still beat him even at his age and even Joyce.

 

I wouldn't stylistically compare them at all, although Wardley does get hit a lot, generally due to not understanding where shots are going to come from rather than because he doesn't care about wading through damage to land his own punches like Joyce does. I have the impression that if Wardley could avoid getting hit as much as he did he would do so, but that his lack of experience is what gets him hit, rather than his willingness to take damage.

Usyk, Fury and Kabayel beat him pretty clearly. AJ should, but I'm not willing to bet on him after the way he got splattered by Dubious. Dubious himself I consider a fifty fifty. I actually think Dubious is around Wardley's level, but has already had the opportunities to showcase himself more. Wardley might only be a few fights behind him in that regard, and by this time next year we might be considering him without controversy on Dubious's level.

Big Bang and Bakole are hard to predict. Some huge leather being thrown around there.

 

Oh yeah as I said, massive flaws in his game, we all saw them when he was coming up through the ranks, getting outboxed by guys like Molina and even Nathan Gorman before stopping them, but at least he won't die wondering.

 

I don't see it. It took Dubios 11 rounds of digging deep to stop Miller (and even then, I thought Miller didn't look that hurt considering the punishment he took). I'd rate Dubios as being far more heavy-handed too.

Wardley looked uncomfortable under forward pressure, and Miller would likely capitalize on that by smothering and frustrating him. It'd be an interesting match up for sure though.

 

Look, he was getting beaten badly by Huni until his power got him out of trouble.

So in the spirit of the thread title, whilst I doubt he’s the hardest hitter at HW, he’s obviously in the top handful and therefore a puncher’s chance against anyone. Does he pack more heat than Dubois, AJ, Zhang, etc…well it’s hard to say but we are dealing in small margins at that level.

 

This guy does not hit harder than Zhang, AJ, Dubois, etc.

 

True, but plenty of others got hyped for their power and when they stepped up that power became less impressive. We even had people hyping Huni's power before this fight saying his power had increased because in his last two fights he blasted out two journeymen. Parker was another, KOing everyone until he stepped up to world class. Makhmudov too, clearly hits hard but not as hard as he was made out to be as every time he stepped up he either was taken the distance or beaten.

Wardley may be another Wilder but the fact is we don't know until he steps up and KO's someone with a good chin. I'd also argue Wilder's power itself is overrated, who was the most durable guy he KO'ed? Breazeale who had been dropped a number of times already when facing Wilder? Zhang's power is more proven than Wilders, so I wouldn't even rate Wilder as the biggest puncher of this era at heavyweight.

Wardley hits hard that's a given at this point but how hard is the real question. He needs to KO better, more durable guys if he's to be in the mix with guys who can be seen as the hardest punchers in the division.