Moses Itauma says WBA interim heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley earned a title shot against undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk with his 11th-round technical knockout victory over Joseph Parker on Saturday night, and a recent string of wins over tough contenders.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Itauma Impressed by Wardley’s Grit
The highly ranked heavyweight contender Itauma was impressed with the toughness that Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) displayed in the fight, losing what he believed every round from the second through the ninth before coming on in the tenth to hurt Parker (36-4, 24 KOs), and then stop him in round 11.
“In the second round, I thought he’d get him out of there. In the third round, I thought he’d get him out of there. Then I probably didn’t give him no rounds at all until round 11,” said Moses Itauma to Queensberry about Fabio Wardley in his bout with Joseph Parker tonight.
What Wardley endured in round 10 was impressive. He went through a hail of fire from Parker, getting hit with a ton of short punches at close range, to come back and hurt him late in the round. For a moment there, it looked like Parker was going to knock out Fabio, as he had him seemingly on the brink.
“He’s One Tough Cookie” Moment
“He was one tough cookie. That’s a bad man. War by name, war by nature, isn’t it?” said Itauma, reacting to being reminded about Wardley pointing to the ground after eating a barrage of punches from Parker in round 10.
Earned It the Hard Way
“He deserves it,” said Itauma about Wardley deserving a world title shot against undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. “He beat Adeleye. He beat Clarke twice. He beat Huni, and he knocked out Parker as well. Come on, give the man a title shot.”
Wardley is the mandatory for Usyk’s WBO belt, which makes him next up unless the title is vacated. That’s not Usyk’s style. He’s not going to give up his WBO belt for a fight that he would be one of his biggest against a contender who has earned it by beating Parker.