Ipswich-born, Town-supporting boxer Fabio Wardley will fulfil his dream of staging a fight at Portman Road when he takes on Jarrell Miller for the interim WBA World Heavyweight Championship at the stadium on Saturday 7th June.
Wardley, 30, the Commonwealth, WBO European and WBA International heavyweight champion, has long held the ambition of fighting at Portman Road.
The Chantry-born fighter, who started his career in white collar boxing, has fought with the Town badge on his gloves and ITFC on his trunks, and is a regular at Portman Road. He has previously appeared on the pitch ahead of fights and has subsequently returned to parade his belts, while also joining the squad on the bus tour celebrating promotion from the Championship last summer.
The announcement comes as little surprise with the club having applied for a licence to stage boxing and wrestling earlier in the week.
"As a proud Tractor Boy born and bred in Ipswich, this is a dream come true for me,” Wardley said. "Fighting for a world title at Portman Road means everything to me.
"I’ve got a tough opponent in front of me, but that’s what I live for. I’m ready to dig deep, go to battle, and leave it all in the ring. Even more so than usual! It’s going to be a war, and I can’t wait to give my hometown crowd a spectacle they’ll never forget.”
Town chairman and CEO Mark Ashton, who often sits next to Wardley at Town matches, added: "Fabio and I have been discussing a Portman Road fight for the best part of nearly four years, so I'm delighted that we've managed to get this fight over the line and give Fabio the opportunity for a homecoming world title fight at Portman Road.
"I'd like to thank Frank Warren and his team, who have all been tremendous throughout the planning process, and we're all now looking forward to fight night.
"Let's get this town and county behind one of our own in what is sure to be a thrilling event on our doorstep.”
Promoter Warren said: "On a personal note, it is a huge pleasure for me to deliver Fabio his dream of fighting at Portman Road.
"It is what he has spoken about from day one of our alliance and I know how much Ipswich Town means to him.
"I believe this is the perfect fight for Fabio to take his next step because Miller is no easy pickings for anyone, especially given his size and front foot style. Fabio really is ‘Running Towards Adversity’!”
Wardley’s manager, Michael Ofo, said; "Wardley bleeds Ipswich. He’s dreamt of nights like this his whole life and now it’s his moment. The man across the ring is no pushover, but that’s exactly what we want—real challenges. Real fights.
"He’s ready for war, and when that bell rings, you’ll see why he’s the pride of the east of England.”
Brooklyn-born Miller, 36, known as the Big Baby, has a record of 26 wins, 22 KOs, two draws and one defeat.
Miller’s advisor, Spencer Brown said: "I am delighted to bring this fabulous opportunity to Jarrell on such a big stage. I think he’s the best heavyweight in America and if I didn’t think he was going win this we wouldn’t have taken the fight.
"Fabio’s is a great fighter, one of the best in the UK and good guy but he’s bitten off more than he can chew. It’s great to team up with Queensberry once again. It’s going to be some night at Portman Road on June 7 and I’m 100 per cent behind my man to get the job done.”
Wardley, 18 wins, including 17 KOs, no losses and one draw, is currently ranked highly by all boxing’s governing bodies, holding a number one ranking with the WBA, number three with the WBO and WBC and eight with the IBF. He is listed at nine in the Ring Magazine ratings.
Tickets for the fight, which will be shown live on DAZN, will go on pre-sale from Monday 7th April, when there will also be a press conference, with general sale from Wednesday 10th April from the Town website.