The Body Snatcher has 18 knockouts from 28 victories and is known for his devastating left hook. Highlight-reel knockouts of Lucas Browne, Alexander Povetkin and Derek Chisora are evidence of that.
But if that wasn’t enough then Wardley can attest to the concussive force of his trademark shot from first-hand experiences. “To date, I’ve ticked most of them off now,” he told talkSPORT when discussing whom he has sparred. “I’ve done Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte, Oleksandr Usyk, Filip Hrgovic, Derek Chisora.
“All the big names and top ten guys, I’ve ticked them all off, which is something I’m quite happy with and I’m thankful to them for giving me that opportunity.”
“I’ve done more rounds with some than others,” he added. “Like with Joshua I’ve only done maybe ten rounds in total, whereas with Hrgovic I spent about a month in Miami with him training and when you spend more time with someone there’s more opportunity for them to land some sweeter shots.
“But the single time I’ve been hit the hardest is Dillian Whyte I think when he’s caught me with that quick check left hook a few times and it catches you by surprise.”
Wardley faces Michael Polite-Coffie this weekend on the undercard of Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena. The 28-year-old is extremely heavy-handed and has dispatched of all but one of his 15 opponents so far – the ultra-tough pole Jakub Wojcik back in 2017 in his professional debut.
“My record goes to show that one way or the other I get my opponents out of there,” Wardley added. “Maybe I’m not the hardest single punch fighter amongst the heavyweights, but I think I put my shots together well and all of them have power, speed, they’re sharp, so I think its more accumulative rather than a single devastating shot.”
A win against Coffie will shoot him up the WBA rankings – where he is currently sitting at No14 – towards his ultimate goal of becoming a world champion, an incredible rise for a man who took up the sport only six years ago.