Fabio Wardley has named a trio of American heavyweight contenders as options for his next fight, should it not prove to be Kubrat Pulev next.

Keen to finally headline a card at his beloved Portman Road this summer, the Ipswich man accepts logistics and circumstances outside his control could make that a difficult eventuality.

He likened Pulev's current standing as WBA Regular champion to that once held by IBF titleholder Daniel Dubois, currently in the midst of a three-fight win streak after his ninth-round stoppage defeat by unified titlist Oleksandr Usyk in Wroclaw, August 2023.

This month, the WBA ordered Pulev (32-3, 14 KOs) to face Wardley after his 12-round unanimous decision win over fellow veteran Mahmoud Charr in December. However, it's unclear whether the Bulgarian, who turns 44 in May, would be ready in time - thus other possibilities are being explored to justify a stadium show for Wardley.

He told Sky Sports: "The Portman Road thing is a dream, there's a lot of things that need to align. The club can't give you that many dates as to whether the pitch will be free, so it's a small window to work with. Which opponent do you pick? What's their window in terms of training camp and moving parts all over. If it can come off perfectly, fantastic."

A resolution is expected in the coming weeks, knowing the sanctioning body's deadline to agree terms is April 4. No. 3-ranked contender Michael Hunter (24-1-2, 17 KOs) would then face the winner within 120 days of that proposed showdown, with October 25 their final cut-off point.

Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) doesn't want to waste time and would rather showcase his skills against the world's elite names: "Although I've had my good British-level fights and the middling-level kind of, some may do a little bit of European and then jump to the kind of world level, but I feel like I'm ready to jump to that world level.

"Pulev's one of the men in the pot, there's Miller, Anderson, Hunter. That's the mix I believe I'm in, a world title contender now. So all I believe is left to do is prove it by fighting another contender, I've got no problem in [doing] that."

Having shared the ring with former two-time world title challenger Eric Molina (29-9, 21 KOs) and Michael Polite Coffie (13-5, 10 KOs) as he continued making strides in previous years, it's not a surprise to see Wardley welcoming more challenges Stateside.

Jarrell Miller (26-1-2, 22 KOs) hasn't boxed since a 12-round majority draw with former unified world champion Andy Ruiz last August, though currently sits at 10 in the WBA rankings.

Martin Bakole inflicted Jared Anderson's first defeat earlier that same night, though the 25-year-old (18-1, 15 KOs) laboured to a 10-round decision win over Marios Kollias last month and uncertainty surrounds his future.

Former WBO world cruiserweight title challenger Hunter, who scored a TKO10 win over Bakole in October 2018, has stagnated and seen his stock drop since the coronavirus-enforced lockdown. He's on a four-fight winning run and went 3-0 in 2024, capping it with a fifth-round stoppage win over 21-fight journeyman Christian Larrondo Garcia in December.

Hunter and Miller, both 36, appear more feasible options for Wardley's team to pursue than a considerably younger prospect still rebuilding after a damaging maiden pro defeat.