FABIO WARDLEY survived a brutally shattered nose to grab the British heavyweight grown from Nathan Gorman.
The pair collided for the vacant belt, that Joe Joyce left behind to push on for world titles, in a three-round barnstormer.
Ipswich 27-year-old Wardley was a Sunday league footballer working in recruitment before he got the boxing bug, while Gorman trained on Team GB sparring the likes of Anthony Joshua.
But Wardley – who is managed by mentor and sparring partner Dillian Whyte – showed unteachable heart to handle a shattered snout and secure a TKO win.
“It’s been a bit of a journey and so far so good. I have been in some good fights and put on some good shows.
“I am from the Dillian Whyte school of hard knocks, we go to war in sparring and we go to war in the ring.
“I was hurt in the second, Nathan is good but I am used to taking big shots so it is no problem to me, I just bite down on my gumshield and get the job done.
“I want to be headlining shows, 2023 is the year of Fabio Wardley.”
After a sensibly cagey start, things caught fire in the second and never stopped burning.
Wardley started slowly and suffered a sickening broken nose but it sparked him into action.
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The handsome prospect looked like a totally different person after his hooter was rearranged and his breathing would have been a bloody nightmare.
But the Suffolk puncher rallied and then battered the Traveller into the canvas twice.
Gorman was wise and took his time with the counts and looked like he might regain his early poise and uppercut precision.
But in the third, with Wardley’s nose hanging off, Gorman was decked again and even though he beat the count for the hat-trick, his corner hurled in the towel.
