The WBA has ordered their regular heavyweight champion Kubrat Pulev (32-3, 14 KOs) to defend against #1 ranked Fabio Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs). Pulev, 43, holds the secondary belt with the World Boxing Association while Oleksandr Usyk is the main champion and the one with the more prestigious belt. It’s beneath Wardley to stoop to this level to fight for a secondary belt.
The WBA should have phased out its ‘regular’ belt long ago because it confuses the fans and does nothing for whoever holds the title. Pulev captured his ‘regular’ WBA strap last December, defeating Mahmoud Charr by a 12-round unanimous decision in Sofia, Bulgaria. It’s a bad look that the WBA still has their ‘regular’ title.
The Age Factor
Although the 6’4″ Pulev looked good for someone his age against a lesser fighter, he’s still nowhere near the level he was years ago when he challenged then IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko for his three belts on November 15, 2014.
Pulev’s last solid victory against a good B-level heavyweight champion was in 2016, when he dominated Derek Chisora, beating him by a 12-round split decision. Everyone Pulev has beaten since then has been marginal fighters with little ability, and he is nowhere near the top of the tree in the division.
It’s unclear why Wardley’s promoter bothers having him fight Pulev for a belt that has no real meaning. Fabio, 30, should be fighting the best possible opposition rather than challenging for secondary belts.
Wardley is an eight-year pro, who doesn’t possess the kind of talent that would enable him to beat any of the high-level heavyweights in the division. He’s missing that spark that’s needed for him to have a shot at beating anyone good.
Wardley is more like British level heavyweight, but he’s been given a high ranking based on his wins over other fighters from his country. The trouble that Fabio had with the 38-year-old journeyman Eric Molina in 2021 showed where he’s at talent-wise. You could tell from watching Wardley’s performance against Molina that the wheels would come off if he were put in with anyone better than that.
Wardley is coming off a first round knockout win over the 271-lb Frazer Clarke on October 12 in Riyadh. Clarke is NOT a world level fighter, and it’s not a big deal that Wardley knocked him out.
Who Wardley Should Fight
Instead of Wardley’s promoters targeting trinket titles, they should focus on matching hi against these heavyweights to try and develop him in a meaningful way:
– Filip Hrgovic
– Bakhodir Jalalov
– Martin Bakole
– Richard Torrez Jr.
– Efe Ajagba
– Frank Sanchez
– Andy Ruiz
I doubt that Wardley could beat any of these fighters, but at least he would be fighting quality guys that would get the attention of the fans. Battling for secondary titles against a 43-year-old Pulev is dumb. I don’t respect that move. It just makes fans view Wardley as lacking confidence to tackle the good fighters in the division, and given how he looked against Molina, I can understand that.
Kubrat Pulev has been ordered to defend his WBA world heavyweight title against British challenger Fabio Wardley 🥊 pic.twitter.com/gvIjjmen5Y
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) March 5, 2025
Last Updated on 03/06/2025
