Fabio Wardley: Unbeaten heavyweight ready for 'long haul' in British title showdown

Fabio Wardley knocked out Daniel Martz (right) and stopped Chris Healey in his two fights earlier this year

Fabio Wardley is ready for the "long haul" when he tries to add his name to the illustrious list of British heavyweight champions.

Lennox Lewis, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua all held the title on their way to bigger things.

And 27-year-old Wardley will take an unbeaten 14-0 record into his fight with Nathan Gorman for the vacant belt.

"I'm confident in my abilities, I'm confident in my stamina levels," Wardley told BBC Radio Suffolk.

He has only gone the distance once, in his first bout as a professional, but that was only over four rounds - and Saturday's bout at Wembley Arena could go 12.

"We've been sparring 12 rounds consistently, and mixing in two or three different opponents at the same time so they're staying fresh while I'm slowly getting worn out. It's been a long haul to get through this camp.

"There's only so much that you can translate from sparring to a real fight. The testing I do with my boxing science team, we don't leave anything to chance, we test things with numbers, we know categorically how fit I am," the reigning English champion, from Ipswich, said.

"I'm the fittest I've been in my career to date. If ever there's a time when I'm ready to do 12 rounds, it's now."

Wardley has been working with Ben Davison, a former member of WBC world champion Fury's support team.

Ben Davison (left) worked with Tyson Fury and now with Fabio Wardley

"I feel like the level of coaching is poor in this country. They're lazy - that's the reality of it. I outwork them - that's the reality of it," Davison told BBC 5 Live's Boxing podcast earlier this year.

"Ben's added a lot of key fundamental details that I've missed because my journey through boxing has been fast-tracked," said Wardley, who was was a recruitment consultant in the City of London before switching to the ring.

"I skipped a few steps on the way and a few old-school drills. They are things to practise and get into my style and he's helped add that in.

"He's improved me loads. It's not just me as a boxer, but my IQ as a boxer, it's me being able to recognise what an opponent is doing in front of me and what they're trying to do."

The British title was vacated in the summer by former Olympic silver medallist Joe Joyce, who became WBO interim heavyweight champion by knocking out Joseph Parker in September.

Gorman has fought for the belt before, but was knocked out in three rounds by Joyce's predecessor Daniel Dubois in 2019, the only blemish on his 20-fight record.

"That's a massive motivator for him. He didn't succeed first time around, but that almost puts a fire in his belly," added Wardley.

"He's got a lot of good skills to offer, he comes from that Traveller background, he knows his way around a ring, he's been boxing since he was a young, young lad.

"He's got fast hands, he puts combinations together well, so there's some things I'm going to have to look out for, definitely."