LONDON, England - Within a week of the one-punch knockout of Justis Huni that transformed Fabio Wardley into a genuine world title contender in June, the 30-year-old from Suffolk welcomed his first child, a baby daughter, into the world.

There had been some concern that the new arrival might come early and throw preparations for the most important fight of his life into chaos. As it happened, it could not have worked out more perfectly as the interim WBA heavyweight champion sat holding his baby girl a few hours before the clock ticked over into Father’s Day 2025.

Whisper it quietly, but Fabio Wardley is beginning to believe in himself, not only that he has the power to knock out any heavyweight regardless of how he might be getting on in a fight. but that things might just go his way in general.

“It’s a funny one,” Wardley told The Ring. “All of this just keeps landing too perfectly.”

Maybe it's something about growing up in a provincial town in England that produces pessimism. Maybe it was something in his upbringing or the ankle injuries that curtailed a promising football career. Whatever the reason, Wardley doesn't deny that his inner monologue is more like a devil on his shoulder than an angel in his ear.

“I’ve been thinking this for a good few years now,” Wardley said. “Like, OK, this is the step-up too far. ‘Fab, don’t get me wrong, congrats for being here at all mate, you’re doing well and stuff, but this is the step too far, this is where you blow it.'

“Then every time, somehow, it’s not just that I do well but it’s momentous. It’s an event. It’s talked about. Whether it’s a 12-round war with Frazer Clarke, or a crazy one-round knockout in the rematch, or it’s being behind on all the cards and pulling a big shot out of the bag at the last minute. It’s not just a pat on the back ... these are big moments.

“Then, to top it off, the birth of my child follows the biggest fight of all at Portman Road, all timed perfectly. It seems to be following a line. Maybe it’s time I stop questioning it all and maybe I’ll just sit back and let it happen, because things will go my way. Maybe it's pre-set up, and I just need to ride the wave.”

It is certainly so far, so good for the 19-0-1, 18 KOs puncher, who has emphatically answered all the questions raised by his lack of amateur experience.

As well as securing the interim title with the WBA, his victory over Huni on June 7 pushed him up to No. 7 in The Ring’s heavyweight rankings. He has also emerged as one of the most exciting fighters in the division given the slashy power that has produced one of the highest knockout ratios (90%) in the sport.

But since the baby arrived, Wardley has not set foot back in Ben Davison’s gym and has only recently started turning his thoughts back to the day job, albeit with a secret weapon waiting for him back home in Ipswich.

“Fatherhood gives me a nice little release,” he said when asked how becoming a dad has changed him. “Boxing as a whole can be hectic, never mind the punching bit, everything else that goes with it. But then I’ll go home and I'll sit down with my kid and I don't care about nothing for an hour, two hours, however long.

“It's actually a great distractor in all the right ways, it does everything perfectly for me. My missus said the same thing to me. She asked if I think it might be stressful for me to come home to a baby and have to look after her. It’s not because the second I hold her I'm not worried about anything else.

“And once everything is rolling again and I have a fight to think about, it won’t affect the process. Everything's going to run the same, really. I've got to go to work, and the bills need to be paid, so I need to be in the best place, best shape, best form, and my missus is a great mother, so everything will run smoothly.”

Not so smooth, however, is the route to Wardley’s next fight. By virtue of his placing with the WBA, the logical next step would be a fight for the sanctioning body's "regular" title, with the main belt currently held by Oleksandr Usyk.

However, there is still much confusion about the proposed fight between WBA regular champion Kubrat Pulev and Michael Hunter. Don King won the purse bid to stage the fight back in May, and it was originally supposed to take place as part of the legendary promoter’s birthday week. However, that falls on August 20, when King turns 94, and there is still no official announcement about that fight taking place at all.

Meanwhile, Wardley is patiently waiting for a shot at Pulev’s belt, and says he has no intention of heading in a different direction.

“I know that the Pulev-Hunter fight is scheduled, but whether it happens or not is a different question entirely,” he said. “I want that belt, so I’m on a bit of a waiting scale to see what happens.

“I think the WBA said that this has to be cleared up before the end of the year. So whoever has the interim belt has to fight for the regular belt before then. So if that doesn’t happen, we have to have a word with the WBA and say, ‘hang on, what are we doing here?’

“I’m not the one holding things up, I’ve done my job, I’ve won by knockout, so how do we get things moving? We are hot on that, and we’re checking in and making sure things are moving properly. This is just boxing at the top isn’t it? It all gets a bit stop-start and stagnant.

“Sometimes you have to wait and hold your position. I’m at the point now where I don’t have to fight for the sake of fighting. Right now, my plan is to fight for that regular belt, and I’m not looking at other options. It depends on what the WBA say, but my argument will be that I’ve done my job, I’m busy, I’m active, and I’m also ready to go now.

“So how about you put the backing in the guy who actually wants to promote your organization and let me fight?”

Pulev has managed just one fight in the past 18 months, a decision victory over Mahmoud Charr in December. Hunter’s last fight came that same month, a fifth round stoppage of the now-10-11-1 Christian Larrondo Garcia.

“Let’s see what happens with those two, but it has gone quiet,” Wardley said. “I will 100 percent be out before the end of the year. I’ll be in the gym, training and staying ready. Maybe it will play out exactly how I want it to.”