The British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion defeated his countryman with an explosive first-round knockout in Saturday's (12.10.24) bout and was pleased to earn an emphatic win after the duo had battled to a thrilling draw in March's initial clash.

Wardley told Queensberry: "It’s always sweet. You never wanna do overtime in that ring.

"After the last 12 rounds we shared together, I know how I felt the next day, so I wasn’t really too keen to go through all that again but if I ever have to go to those deep places and dig from the well, we all know I’ve got it in me.

"I said in the buildup that I watched the fight back and knew the errors I’d made and how we could put it together a lot sweeter and I did that on the night."

Wardley is gaining a reputation for being a lethal finisher in the ring and admits that he took advantage of his rival's frailties in the early stages of the contest.

He said: "I know once I hurt someone, I can get rid of them. I made some errors in the first fight. I went into that first fight with a lot of background stuff. I went into that last fight with a couple of issues.

"We got that fixed up, we got the game plan right. Executed it on the night.

"Sometimes, war is needed, sometimes a little bit of brain is needed. I just needed to cuten it a little bit, sweeten things a bit, disguise them."

Wardley is now aiming to make the step up to world title bouts after maintaining the British and Commonwealth belts with his ruthless triumph.

He said: "I want belts. I want titles, I want [to become] world champion."