Joseph Parker (36-4-0, 24 KOs) and Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) faced off in a big fight in London last night to decide who will be the next challenger to undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. It was 30-year-old Wardley who was the winner via 11th-round TKO. Favorite Parker did not speculate when he seemed to have the advantage on the scorecards and ended up losing the WBO interim title.
Referee Howard Foster was criticised for what many considered to be a premature stoppage, although the New Zealander did not blame the referee for his defeat. “I felt like I was having a good fight and all of a sudden you get caught, and that’s boxing. I was fine when they stopped, but I’m not the referee. I wanted to continue, of course,” Parker said.
After the duel, the result of the scorecards was known after the tenth round: 98-92 and 96-94 for Parker and a draw. It was difficult for the Englishman from Ipswich, who had to rely almost entirely on a knockout after a fight of enormous level and with a lot of action.
It was a tough fight, but it is fair to say that Wardley worked throughout the fight to find the winning moment. In his previous fight, something similar happened against Justis Huni and his punching and resilience ended up coming through when it seemed that the fight could slip away from him. On paper, he should face Usyk in his next fight or the WBO would strip the Ukrainian of the organization’s absolute belt. In any case, the champion will decide his path.
Can Wardley beat Usyk? The Briton demonstrates in every fight his power, fitness and ability to take punches. He goes forward and does not hide, so he would have opportunities to win against anyone. However, the king of the heavyweight division has more resources than him and has never made tactical mistakes throughout his career.
Tyson Fury, who witnessed the fight starring his great friend Parker, gives options to Wardley against the man who beat him in his last two fights: “Usyk is a special talent. He’s a good boxer, but Fabio is a dangerous puncher; I’m sure if he hits someone, he’ll knock them out”. Parker confirmed that his opponent has punching power: “He’s up there” with the strongest punchers in the division.
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