Fabio Wardley came from behind again to stop Joseph Parker and set himself up for a shot at undisputed world title shot
British heavyweight Fabio Wardley pulled off the biggest win of his career with an enormous upset over Joseph Parker to set up a world title shot against Oleksandr Usyk.
In a pulsating contest at the O2 Arena, Wardley showed he has one of the toughest chins in the sport as he swallowed several huge punches from Parker before forcing referee Howard Foster to stop the bout in an explosive 11th round.
The WBO had ordered the experienced Parker to face undisputed world heavyweight champion Usyk in July but the New Zealander put his mandatory challenger status on the line against Wardley, who was still involved in white-collar boxing when his opponent was world champion in 2016.
Parker promised to be a “different level” to the 30-year-old and that appeared the case for much of the bout in London. Wardley seemed to have missed out on the chance to stop the bout in a back-and-forth second round and again in the 10th, which appeared a sliding doors moments for the Ipswich right-hander.
READ MORE: Tyson Fury explains exactly why he would reject £1billion for comebackREAD MORE: Tyson Fury told why he must wait for Oleksandr Usyk trilogy fight as promoter speaks out
Yet, after Parker could not get his rival out, Wardley roared back with a huge right to wobble the New Zealand in the 11th and a flurry of further punches forced a dramatic stoppage to continue his fairytale story in the sport.
Wardley produced a sensational 10th-round knock-out to defeat Justin Huni on home soil at Portman Road in June – despite being behind on the judges scorecard – and four months later he had the golden carrot of Usyk in front of him.
Usyk was not in London, but ringside was a who’s who of the blue-riband division, with Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois and Moses Itauma all in attendance and a December fight between veterans Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte announced before the main event. Wardley finally walked out to meet Parker, who got a fist bump from Fury ahead of his ring walk, before the bout got under way at 10.58pm.
Parker, a 39-fight veteran, caught the British boxer on several occasion in a one-sided first round. A small amount of blood was visible from Wardley’s noise, but he fought fire with fire in a sensational round two. The Ipswich fighter initially targeted the body of his opponent before a huge right hand wobbled Parker, an uppercut followed but a loose gumshield forced referee Foster to step in.
Wardley had scented blood and yet Parker survived before an even third round was followed by an explosive finish to the fourth.Parker caught Wardley, but the British heavyweight responded with a flurry of successful punches on the ropes to get the O2 Arena crowd on their feet.
After a thrilling start, the volume of trade-offs reduced as Parker started to take control of the middle rounds and Wardley swallowed an enormous right towards the end of a tricky seventh round. The eighth followed a similar theme before Wardley looked in trouble at the end of round nine only to roll out and survive.
Parker was again in control at the start of the 10th, but Wardley flipped the script to get his rival on the ropes. Referee Foster did not step in on this occasion and even though Wardley appeared to have emptied the tank, he went to the well at the start of round 11.
Another huge right wobbled Parker and this time Wardley would not be denied as a flurry of punches followed which forced Foster to step in. Wardley collapsed on the floor after a herculean effort as he added another incredible chapter to his unique story after he sep up a shot at undisputed world heavyweight champion Usyk in 2026.
