Heavyweight star Fabio Wardley vows to shine on 'the biggest night of his life'

Fabio Wardley will fulfill his lifelong dream of fighting at his beloved Ipswich Town's Portman Road on Saturday night and has promised to produce a career-best performance to help keep his world title ambitions intact.

The Suffolk boxing sensation will take centre stage in his home town, hoping to maintain his steep upward trajectory with victory over the hugely talented, and somewhat underrated, Australian opponent.

Despite a lack of amateur experience, hard-hitting Wardley has taken to the professional ranks like a duck to water, wasting no time in cementing himself as arguably the face of the domestic heavyweight scene.

Victories over David Adeleye and more recently Frazer Clarke have catapulted the 30-year-old Queensberry star to the brink of a coveted world title opportunity, and he knows that a 19th career triumph this weekend will all but guarantee him a crack at the WBO strap early in the new year.

"This is huge for me, the biggest night of my life, without doubt," he told DAZN during fight week.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been blessed and had some great events that I’ve been a part of through my career, but this one holds a special place for me and is, for me and everyone here, just a massive event.

- Fabio Wardley (DAZN)

"It’s one that, for the moment at least, I try not to sit on in my head for too long and play around with like ‘look at this monumental thing I’ve pulled off’, that kind of sentiment.

"At least until after the fight is done and the job is ticked off, mission is accomplished, then I can give myself a little pat on the back, a little bit of credit and look at myself like ‘ok, you’ve done pretty well there.’

"But it doesn’t take away from this being a huge event and something that I’m extremely proud of being able to pull off - featuring in a fight of such magnitude at Portman Road is stuff of dreams for me.

"I just have to go out there and deliver now, because I know exactly what is at stake."

Despite being installed as the odds-on favourite to reign supreme on Saturday night, Wardley is well aware of the stern challenge that Huni will provide.

After all, the Aussie star has - as he's constantly reminded Wardley in the build-up to the fight - enjoyed a far more glittering amateur career.

"Is he a better fighter, though, that's the big question," he responded when asked about Huni's comments.

We’ve seen what I’ve done with amateurs in the past - Olympics bronze medalists, Commonwealth Games medalists. I've put them to bed... early!

- Fabio Wardley (DAZN)

"I’ve always come up against them, and there’s always been the very obvious play off of each other - ‘Oh, he’s white collar, he hasn’t got that background, and this guy’s a star-studded amateur. He’s done all this, this, this, this this.’

"Maybe. Great. But we’re not in the amateurs anymore. This isn’t the amateur game, this is professional boxing, and I’ve been in the game longer than him.

"I’ve done more in the game than he has. I’ve been on these big stages, under the bright lights, under the pressure. It’s a sink or swim moment, I think, for Justis."