The 31-year-old, The Ring’s No. 1-ranked heavyweight, beat Joseph Parker for the WBO interim heavyweight title in October and was upgraded to full champion the following month when Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the belt.

But after notching the best win of his career last time out, Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) was in no mood to secure an easy defense of the title in his first outing of 2026. Instead, he picked the most dangerous opponent he could find.

Fury had emerged as a potential candidate earlier this year but the two-time world heavyweight champion opted to face Arslanbek Makhmudov in April instead, leaving Wardley with a decision to make.

“I gave Fury an open invitation, really,” Wardley says. “I said, ‘Look, if you want it, I’ll have it.’ But then he said he wants a warm-up first, so that’s fine. It didn’t really even reach a serious conversation.

“Then there was a list of fighters offered to me. There was Daniel Dubois, Filip Hrgovic, Jared Anderson, I think, and then the Albanian Nelson Hysa.”

For Wardley, it was impossible to look past the name at the top of the list – his compatriot and former IBF heavyweight champion Dubois.

“I picked him because he’s the most dangerous one on the list,” Wardley adds. “I look at it and I think, ‘Where am I going to get the most credit? What’s the best fight?’ I look at it from a fans’ perspective.

“Wardley vs. Dubois. You just put that on a piece of paper, and you think, ‘How’s that going to look?’ Are people going to be excited about that?' People will tune in to just watch that, you don’t even need an undercard. That’s the type of fight I want and the type of fight I want to be associated with.”

Wardley and Dubois, who first crossed paths in sparring nearly a decade ago, were reunited Wednesday afternoon in London’s Square Mile, the capital’s financial district, as they officially kicked off the promotion for their high stakes clash.

They will meet on May 9, 160 miles north at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, where Wardley’s WBO title will be on the line. But for the Ipswich man, a victory will represent far more than a defense.

As he told The Ring in December, Wardley was informed of his elevation to full champion while sitting in a Heathrow departure lounge, which meant he never got what he describes as “that crowning moment”. Beating Dubois, however, will provide him with a second one.

“I guess it was almost anticlimactic in a sense,” said Wardley of becoming heavyweight champion of the world. “I've spent years watching people win world titles, and it's in the ring with the cheer of the crowd. You raise the belt, you hear ‘and the new’ and all of this, but I just got it on the end of a phone call.

“That’s not to take away from it at all, because it's one hell of an achievement, and I'm still extremely proud of it, but it is still a weird way to receive a world title. But winning this fight will provide me with that moment. I want to be able to win it in the ring, I want to be able to hear it, and I want what I feel like I was denied the first time around.”

Like Wardley, the 28-year-old Dubois was also elevated to full champion from his position as interim belt-holder when Usyk vacated the IBF title in June 2024. However, the Londoner followed that move up by knocking out Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium three months later.

Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs), ranked No. 4 by The Ring, lost that belt when he was knocked out by Usyk on the same pitch in July but has been offered the chance to bounce back and win a different world title in his very next outing.

“I’m full of confidence for this one," Dubois said. "I’m raring to go, and I’m going to take his '0'. I’m going to be the first man to beat him. I can’t wait to go, and it will be victory by any means necessary.

“Skills pay the bills and that’s what we’re going to do. This show is called ‘Don’t Blink’ for a reason.”