Fabio Wardley has set his sights on an American debut in 2026 - and he wants to make it at Madison Square Garden.

The 31-year-old was upgraded to full WBO heavyweight champion of the world in November and his team are now in the process of arranging the first defence of his new title.

As reported by The Ring, all-British fights against either Tyson Fury or Derek Chisora are both high on Wardley’s wish list but he has now revealed another goal for the new year.

“I just want 2026 to be big and busy,” Wardley told The Ring.

“I’ve got a world title now but I’m not trying to sit and hold onto it and hide away with it, I want to be busy and fighting regularly.

“I want big fights, big names, big events and big occasions. I’ve had some already in my career and ticked off some great achievements and milestones but that has only made me want more.

“If we’ve done all that, then what can’t we do this? Why can’t we do Madison Square Garden? That’s where I’d like to go. That’s high on my list now and I have no plans of easing up, I have always looked for the biggest challenges and that’s not going to change now.”

However a fight at Madison Square Garden would require an adequate dance partner and Wardley revealed that his original idea for an opponent has been stolen by none other than Ring, WBA, IBF and WBC champion Oleksandr Usyk.

“An idea I had coming into the year was the Wilder fight as well,” Wardley adds. “But someone snatched that off me. So, that would have been a great one to do in America and that’s the sort of fight that would work at MSG."

Another possibility could be a showdown with Jared Anderson, the man once hailed as the future of the heavyweight division. His progress was wrecked by Martin Bakole in 2024 when he was knocked out in the fifth round of their Los Angeles clash but he got back to winning ways in February and is currently ranked at No. 5 with the WBO.

Wardley said: "The opponent definitely does matter because I’ve never fought in America before so the crowd is new to me. There's going to have to be a good opponent on the other side that's going to make it a good fight, a worthy story for the fans to come out and want to watch.

“Really I'm just looking for new achievements, new milestones, new things to tick off. Because when I do sit down eventually and look back on my career, I want to look back and know I didn't leave any stone unturned.”

There was a time when Wardley, the former white-collar fighter with no amateur experience, was seen as high risk and little reward for other heavyweight contenders. But everything changed once he claimed the WBO title with even Fury now calling him out as he plots a route back from his most recent retirement.

“People are a lot more open to fighting me these days,” Wardley says. “The world title is a very shiny bauble that people want to get their hands on - the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. What the belt does is keep these conversations alive for way longer than beforehand.”

One of the lengthiest conversations so far has been with Chisora, the 42-year-old Londoner currently seeking his 50th and potentially final fight. As it stands, with Fury away training in Thailand and Joshua currently taking some time away from the sport after his personal tragedy, Wardley believes a fight with Chisora now seems likely.

“All fights are a possibility,” Wardley explains. “But the one with Chisora, out of the list of names, seems probably most realistic and currently at the forefront.

“But Del Boy will always be Del Boy and he’s always going to have his own plans and grand designs about how he wants his 50th fight to look and I understand it might not marry up.”

The same can be said of a world title defence against two-time world heavyweight champion Fury, who is set to return to the ring at some point this year for the first time since his second defeat to Usyk in December 2024. Wardley has heard the call outs but, for now, is not taking them too seriously.

“This is Tyson Fury we are talking about,” he says. “Everything is a lot of talk with him.

“But it’s a lot of talk until it isn’t, until he finally says ‘ok, let’s have it then’. So I just have to keep in his face, keep at the forefront and just keep the conversation open and say: ‘look, we’re here, there’s no need for games, prancing, fussing, back and forth, this can all be done very simply - just make the call and I’ll be on the other end of the phone’.

“Right now he’s saying he wants to have a little knock around himself first to get himself back into the swing of things so maybe he does that. If I could jump straight into that fight I would but if not we need to fill the gap ourselves.

“Maybe that’s when we head to America - or maybe that’s where Chisora comes in.”