WBA interim heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) showed that he’s genuine 24k gold by defeating WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (36-4, 24 KOs) by a dramatic TKO in round 11 on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, England.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
It was a storybook comeback from the Brit, eating a blizzard of punches from Parker, 33, in round 10. Wardley came on strong in that round to hurt Parker with a right hand to turn the tables in the closing seconds. Parker looked gone as the round ended. He staggered back to his corner, looking in bad shape after the 10th round ended.
Wardley immediately resumed his attack in round 11, trapping his wounded prey, Parker against the ropes, and teeing off with beautiful shots thrown with full power with both hands, and not missing anything. They were all connecting to the head of Parker, doing damage. Barely holding himself up against the ropes, Parker was saved by referee Howard Foster, who stepped in and called a halt to the carnage. The official time was at 1:54 of round 11.
Wardley reveled in his victory moments after the fight, saying, “This is my division now—Usyk, I’m coming!”
The victory for Fabio, 30, sets him up with a world title shot against undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2026. Wardley is now the WBO mandatory, and that title shot is next for him. The only way the fight doesn’t happen is if Usyk chooses to vacate his WBO title. He’s not expected to do that, though. Why would he? It’s a fight that attracted a lot of attention worldwide and provided Oleksandr with a huge payday.
Wardley is a natural-born superstar. His fighting style is so entertaining, as he stays in the pocket, willing to take shots to deliver his own, and he’s got a chin. He showed that tonight, taking Parker’s best shots, weathering a 10th-round storm to come back to score an 11th-round TKO victory.
“He earned it; back to the drawing board,” said Parker.
Joseph is going to have to fight often, take risks by facing the best opposition, and stay in shape if he wants to work his way into a position to fight for a world title before age kicks in. He’s still young at 33, but he looked older than that tonight, the way he gassed out in the later rounds.