The British heavyweight takes on Australian Justis Huni for the WBA interim title on Saturday (07.06.25) and is determined to put himself in prime position to take on the Ukrainian legend at some point next year.

Wardley told Sky Sports: "If he's saying he's got two fights left, do I think I would be his next fight? No.

"By about early next year is when I'll be in a prime spot to push on for one of them actual full-on world titles, whether he's still around at that point or not is only a question for him really. But if he is, I'll 100 per cent be pushing my mandatory [shot] and trying to get that done."

Wardley thinks he would be well-equipped for a fight against Usyk as he previously spent time in training camps with the heavyweight world champion.

The boxer said: "I did a couple of camps over in Ukraine with him in preparation for his fights. So I've spent time with him, I know him well.

"It would be good to jump in there with someone of his calibre but also someone that I know like that."

Wardley defeated Olympic medallist Frazer Clarke in a rematch last October after an epic first fight between the pair ended in a draw and admits that the experience was a huge learning curve for him.

He said: "You can't put a price on experience in the ring and on the night. You really can't.

"I learned so much in that first Frazer fight and I just sat down, studied and said I probably don't want to go through another 12-round war like that again. So let's knuckle down and figure out what went wrong, what you did wrong and how you can capitalise on that."