Parker vs Wardley: Fabio Wardley stops Joseph Parker in huge heavyweight upset
Fabio Wardley suffered a resounding upset on Saturday to crush Joseph Parker’s dreams of becoming a two-time world heavyweight champion, putting himself in position to get a shot at undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The British fighter is now the Ukrainian’s number one challenger after scoring a stunning comeback victory by stopping the experienced New Zealander in the 11th round of an entertaining and harrowing fight at London’s O2 Arena.
Wardley, 30, claimed the WBO ‘interim’ title by forcing referee Howard Foster to stop the bout as he charged at former world champion Parker, who was seriously injured by a right uppercut in the 10th round.
The Ipswich native brought the crowd to its feet and dropped to the ground in celebration as his corner team piled into the ring in celebration.
They were spectacular scenes as the former white-collar boxer continued his remarkable rise through the professional ranks.
There was an argument that the stoppage was premature, especially considering Parker dominated much of the fight and repeatedly hurt Wardley with right hands.
But the 33-year-old New Zealander put up little protest after Foster stepped in and his coach, Andy Lee, did not object despite suffering his fourth career defeat.
“I’ve said throughout this preparation that we chose Joseph Parker because I believe I’m at the top and I’ve proven that I’m at the top,” Wardley said.
“With all due respect to Joseph, he doesn’t get enough respect and deserves all the respect from the boxing community. He took his chances when he didn’t have to and we knew he wasn’t going anywhere fast. We had to pick our spots and eventually got them out of there.”
It was Wardley’s right uppercut in the 10th round that turned the match decisively back in favor of the underdog.
It was Wardley’s 20th career victory and his most important. Usyk is now on hold, potentially early next year.
By entering this fight, Parker risked his position as the number one contender for Usyk’s crown and suffered his fourth career defeat.
Wardley’s promoter Frank Warren told DAZN: “Usyk said he wants to do it, so that’s what it’s going to be. It’s a 36-minute fight and it only takes a second of that.”
