There was a time when Fabio Wardley looked at The Ring's rankings and hoped he might one day trouble the top five.

But after officially assuming the No. 1 spot, the 30-year-old is comfortable he has paid the requisite dues in his division.

Due to Tyson Fury reaching a year of inactivity following his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk during their December 21 rematch last year, the Gypsy King has now dropped out of the heavyweight rankings meaning that Wardley moves up from No. 2 to No. 1.

"I can't believe I've pulled it off," Wardley tells The Ring. "I look at the rankings, see myself at the top and laugh. I think 'how am I pulling this off?'

"I actually saw a picture the other day from when I'd first got in the top 10. I saw all the names there and I remember thinking back then, if I could just edge my way a bit higher up, just a couple of numbers, to seven, six or even five that would be pretty good. That was a few years back but the ball has kept rolling and I've kept climbing.

"I'm No. 1 now and I just think 'wow, ok, I've done alright here haven't I?'"

Having famously turned professional after only a quartet of outings on the white-collar circuit, Wardley is never one to claim that he always had a dream of becoming world heavyweight champion.

In contrast, he has had to regularly realign his goals after overcoming every hurdle put in his way.

The latest was his dramatic stoppage victory over pre-fight favourite Joseph Parker at London's O2 Arena on October 25, securing the WBO interim title.

Then, after Ring Magazine heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk decided to vacate his WBO title, Wardley was elevated to the position of full champion.

Given he knocked out Frazer Clarke in one devastating round in October last year, then followed it up with a one-punch victory over Justis Huni in June, victory over Parker and the world title belt that followed capped a remarkable 12-month period for the Ipswich man.

"As much as I had to prove to everyone else, really I always had points to prove to myself," Wardley adds.

"It's all well and good knowing and believing in yourself, but actually doing it on the night in the ring, in front of a crowd and whatever else, is when you can say 'you know what, I've got this, I'm good'.

"I took on an Olympian, I took on this guy, that guy, I held my own, took a punch, I threw a punch. I've got all this covered after all.

"And then I looked at the rankings and I thought I can get through these guys. There's no one in that division where I really look at it and think it’s an impossible task or that I can't get anywhere near that.

“Don't get me wrong. Usyk's at the top of the tree, hardest of the pile. But I believe I can just get to these guys. Of course Usyk is a hard one but all the rest I look at, and I think they're perfectly beatable for me."

But while he sits top of the tree in time for Christmas Day, Wardley does believe that he is just one part of a British triumvirate who will emerge as the key players at heavyweight in the post-Usyk era. But, with Anthony Joshua now 36 and the retired Fury, who could be on the verge of a comeback, now 37, it does not include either of them.

"There's always been that kind of question of who's going to be the next one to take over," Wardley says.

"And even back then I've always suggested it was me, Daniel Dubois and Moses Itauma, it was us three for different reasons and at different stages of our careers.

"But we were going to be the three names for the next five, six years in the big fights and running the rest of the division."