British heavyweight boxer Fabio Wardley is now in need of a new opponent for his highly anticipated summer event scheduled to take place at Portman Road.
The venue, which is the home ground of Wardley`s cherished football club, Ipswich Town, was set to host a significant contest between the undefeated contender and the contentious American fighter, Jarrell Miller.
However, over the past 24 hours, speculation began circulating that `Big Baby` Miller had withdrawn from the bout. This evening, Wardley`s promotional team, Queensberry, officially confirmed the news by releasing the following statement:
“Due to a shoulder injury sustained during training camp, Jarrell Miller has had to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Fabio Wardley at Portman Road on June 7.
Queensberry is currently speaking to all relevant parties regarding the situation and expects to announce a replacement opponent within the next 48 hours.”
Wardley and Miller had already faced each other during their initial press conference earlier this month. As expected, tensions flared quickly, with Miller even attempting to strike Wardley during a heated exchange.
While a fight between them might still occur at a later date, Wardley urgently requires a replacement opponent for June 7. In the current WBA rankings, Wardley holds the prestigious position of number one contender. Due to other mandated fights (such as WBA Regular champion Kubrat Pulev being ordered to face second-ranked Michael Hunter) and potential conflicts like Wardley`s stablemate Moses Itauma fighting soon under the same trainer Ben Davison, the list of available top contenders is narrowed.
Fifth-ranked Lenier Pero from Cuba is not considered to possess the necessary profile for a large-scale outdoor stadium event. Martin Bakole, ranked sixth, has an upcoming fight in Riyadh and would likely need additional time to be fully prepared for a June date. However, Filip Hrgovic, who sits at number seven in the rankings, appears to be a fitting candidate. The Croatian fighter recently returned to winning ways by defeating Joe Joyce and brings the pedigree and name recognition suitable for a major clash against Wardley in June.
Fabio Wardley is anticipated to learn the identity of his new challenger by the end of this week.
