“I know my hometown, I know what we're like here, we love to support our own, we love to get behind our own,” Fabio Wardley told BoxingScene ahead of achieving one of his childhood dreams this weekend.
He will in fact achieve the dream of most boxers in the UK who lace up the gloves as youngsters and dream of making a living out of the sport. The home of their beloved soccer team is almost always their first pick when asked where they would love to fight, and Wardley has got the chance to fulfil this goal on Saturday at Ipswich Town FC’s Portman Road.
Wardley will take on Australia’s Justis Huni on the pitch at Portman Road, but he can normally be seen there in the stands most weekends, sometimes with his top off, singing proudly, and hurling abuse at the travelling away supporters. Portman Road has become a place Wardley associates with getting away from the pressures of boxing, yet he doesn’t feel it will be a distraction on fight night.
“No, I don't think so. I think, if anything, it homes you in more,” Wardley said. “If I look around, I see Ipswich town, I see the badge, I see the sign, I see the faces of the people I see on the weekly basis when I'm here and I'm coming to games and this, that, and the other. When I see all that, all it does is narrow the focus.”
Wardley will be fighting in front of thousands of people he has met, either in the stands, or celebrating a win at the local pub afterwards. Win or lose, he will return to the stands after this weekend to cheer on Ipswich Town again next season. He was asked if the thought of returning to the stadium having been beaten on the pitch has ever crossed his mind.
“No, I don't think about that. I don't consider that thought. It's not a thought that I feel like I need to consider,” he said. “I'm only wholeheartedly focused on winning, the win, how I win, how I go about it and then mildly thinking about the steps after that. I'm not concerning myself with anything about a loss because that's not an outcome that's happening.”
Ipswich Town have had a torrid time in this season’s Premier League, having been relegated with one of the lowest points totals on record. The home crowd have not had many nights to celebrate this season, which is why Wardley is looking forward to bringing a special night not just for the fans, but for the community.
“Yeah, look, it's an extremely prideful thing to be able to go, ‘You know what, I stuck a ring on this pitch and brought 30,000 people here for boxing; for boxing, for the town, for the area, for everything it stands for,” said Fabio Wardley. “It's something I'm extremely proud of, so yeah, I'm just ecstatic about it, I'm buzzing for it, I'm really happy about it. I'm really happy it's me and that I'm the one that's able to do it. Also, it's not just about me. It's about the going forward of the community of upcoming boxers and the youth that want to get into boxing. Being able to show it to them on a massive stage like this, down the road, five minutes from their house, is something special.”