Fabio Wardley has been feeding off the “aura” of Anthony Joshua as he seems to reclaim the WBO world heavyweight title from Daniel Dubois at The O2 Arena on Saturday.
Joshua has reunited with Wardley’s coach Ben Davison forward of his British grudge match against Tyson Fury on 11 December and the fighters have been put through their paces collectively at his coaching facility in Harlow.
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Wardley insists the presence of the two-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist has supplied a increase as he seems to avenge the only defeat of his profession against Dubois in May.
“AJ’s been back for a good while in the gym and it’s been good to see him,” the 31-year-old from Ipswich said.
Anthony Joshua has been coaching at the same fitness center as Fabio Wardley forward of his conflict with Tyson Fury (Bradley Collyer/PA)
“He has a different energy and a different aura around him so when he appears it gives the gym a little buzz and a different feel.
“He’s straight back in the combine and he’s shoulder to shoulder with the boys, just like you’d expect.”
Joshua left Davison after his fifth-round knockout by Dubois in 2024 and his return is validation for a coach who has been criticised for his nook work and preparation for world heavyweight title bouts involving Joshua, Wardley and Moses Itauma.
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His failure to throw in the towel as a bloodied Wardley confronted a ferocious onslaught late on in first showdown with Dubois has been scrutinised – referee Howard Foster came to the fighter’s rescue – but he has the full trust of his fighter on Saturday evening.
“The entire dialog around Ben has always been extremely irritating,” Wardley said. “The stage of criticism he gets is unimaginable.
“It’s so strange because the levels at which he’s said to have ‘not achieved’ or not done the right job have been at the absolute pinnacle of the sport.
“I trust these people with my life and I do not say that frivolously. I genuinely do. They know me.
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“They know me well enough to know whether I’m in a fight or not and I was still very much in that first fight.
Daniel Dubois, left, and Fabio Wardley clash on Saturday at the O2 (Adam Davy/PA)
“I’m glad they let me carry on because I was still catching Daniel, even in the tenth.”
Dubois previously identified nerves as the reason for his pedestrian start against Wardley having come off the back of a second confidence-sapping loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
But he now accepts that tension is his default setting and will use his state of mind as a weapon for his 27th professional fight.
“I really feel nervous every day,” he said. “I’m a nervous and chaotic character. I’m chaos and I’m just holding that chaos in until the struggle.
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“It’s a power for you if you know how to use it. It’s about harnessing it. I enjoy inflicting pain and putting that chaos on to the other guy.
“What’s inside me – the ache – I put on him. That’s what boxing is, it releases whatever you have inside you. It’s an outlet.”
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