Wardley promises to heed Usyk's advice to use his jab in the rematch with Daniel Dubois next month
Usyk may not have any of the major world title belts anymore but he's still recognised as the top man in the heavyweight division. He is still active and has never lost in the ring, despite a very close shave last time out against Rico Verhoeven.
As the de facto king of the heavyweights, his words carry enormous weight, so when he asks Wardley in his humorous way, "where is jab?" Wardley would do well to listen.
Wardley and Usyk are actually friends. They bonded in the ring when the raw Brit was invited to the Ukrainian's training camp for sparring. That was an incredible opportunity for Fabio, given the fact that he was just a rookie pro at the time, with no amateur experience whatsoever.
Usyk must have seen potential in him that most people couldn't, and he was proven right. Fabio went on to defy all the odds and become the WBO World Champion, beating far more qualified boxers along the way.
The funny thing is though that Wardley has a pretty good jab. He just hardly used it against Dubois in their barnstormer in Manchester in May. Wardley floored Daniel within the first twenty seconds, and did it again in round 3. He must have thought that the fight was all but his.
That confidence proved to be his undoing. He went "right hand happy", neglecting to set up his attacks with the jab or getting his feet sufficiently close before letting his right hand fly.
Dubois recovered quickly from the knockdowns and started to read Fabio's crude assaults, and meet them with jolting counters. Dubois' own jab was an insistent weapon and set up his own, bludgeoning right hands.
Most observers say Wardley can't win the rematch because he doesn't have time to make the huge adjustments necessary.
I disagree. Wardley will never be as well-schooled and fluid as someone like Dubois, but he knows how to box a whole lot better than he did in that fight. You can be sure that his strategy consisted of more than just bowling over the right hand and hoping for the best.
After a rush of blood to the head, Wardley forgot his gameplan.
Don't believe me? Take a look at his fight against David Adeleye in Saudi Arabia. Adeleye is a fearsome puncher with the left hook and Wardley respected that. He didn't just dive in, all guns blazing. He showed patience, controlled the distance and yes, made use of an effective jab.
Now Dubois, I hear you say, is a much better boxer than Adeleye, and that is true. But Wardley doesn't need to totally outbox Daniel. He just needs to set up his attacks patiently, and lure the champion, who is somewhat predictable, into traps.
Of course, the other question is whether Fabio has recovered sufficiently from the awful punishment he took in the first contest. We just don't know. But if he has, I think he's got an excellent chance of getting his revenge with a stunning knockout.
