“Not at all. Again, the same answer I’ve said a thousand times. There are two of us, and there are four belts.” Reflecting on stablemate Moses Itauma‘s standout performance against Jermaine Franklin, Fabio Wardley ruled out a potential matchup with him a month ago.
Standing on the brink of his first title defense against Daniel Dubois, the WBO heavyweight champion has not shifted his position.
“My stance on the Itauma fight hasn’t changed,” Wardley, as reported by the Ring, said. “Look, I’m still in the same gym with him; I’m still next to him; we’ve still got the same trainer and stuff.”
“So right now, as of this moment, it’s still an impossibility,” he insisted. “It’s still not going to work, WBO mandatory or not. I think that’s something for much further down the road.”
His remarks closely follow WBO chief Gustavo Olivieri’s recent comments.
“In light of Moses’ recent victory against a well-rated contender in Franklin,” he told ThaBoxingVoice. “I will formally recommend that he be designated as the mandatory challenger of the heavyweight division in the WBO.”
“If they [the committee] vote, which I presume and expect that that is going to be the vote, Moses will be designated as the mandatory. Now, the question is, when will the mandatory be enforced, in other words, called?”
“That remains to be seen; it could be called immediately after the Wardley-Dubois fight or thereafter. That is a discussion that the committee has.”
The key complication in a potential Wardley-Itauma clash is that both fighters are trained by Ben Davison.
Beyond the simple fact of being training partners, there’s also a practical layer to consider.
Different goals, same gym: why Fabio Wardley vs. Moses Itauma is on hold
They train closely and spar regularly, even in light sessions, which means Wardley and Itauma are already familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
That familiarity makes a fight at this stage difficult to justify, especially with Itauma sitting high in the contender rankings while Wardley’s title reign is still in its early stages.
On top of that, Wardley has already made his priorities clear, with his focus firmly on the heavyweight division’s top tier, including Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua.
That position effectively pushes a matchup with Moses Itauma further down the line.
The young heavyweight, however, takes a different view and keeps the door open depending on how the promotional situation develops.
“If I win, I fight the winner (Wardley vs. Dubois),” he told Ariel Helwani ahead of the Franklin fight. “I mean, yeah, if Frank Warren allows it, they’re all cool Queensberry boys, isn’t it? Like, I guess it’s kind of Frank Warren. He has to open the gate for us to be able to. Obviously, if Fabio wins, then we’re at the same gym. It might be a bit awkward, but obviously, if Dubois wins, it’ll probably be more likely to happen.”
That response led Helwani to ask whether the two had ever actually discussed fighting each other.
“No, never. It’s never been. It’s never been like a conversation,” Itauma replied. “I’ve got Jermaine Franklin; he’s got Daniel Dubois. I’ve never, never really fought Wardley as my opponent. Like, obviously, when he knocked out Justis Huni, like, everybody saw how excited and how happy I was for him. So it’s, I’ve never really seen him as an opponent.”
In that context, Wardley’s stance makes a fight between them unlikely in the near term.
As Frank Warren revealed, Itauma is expected to return in August. If that lines up with Wardley getting past Dubois, it could create a more complicated situation.
Adding another layer, unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, who is preparing for a title defense against former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven later this month, has also expressed interest in facing the winner in Manchester as part of his three-fight plan before retirement.
If that happens, Itauma would likely have to wait longer before getting a chance to face his stablemate.
