10 hours ago
4
Fabio Wardley pulled off a huge upset to wreck Joseph Parker's dreams of becoming a two-time world heavyweight champion on Saturday and put himself in position for a shot at undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The British fighter is now the number one challenger for the Ukrainian after he claimed a stunning comeback victory by stopping the veteran New Zealander in the 11th round of an entertaining and bruising battle at London's O2 Arena.
Wardley, 30, claimed the WBO 'interim' title when he forced referee Howard Foster to stop the bout as he swarmed former world champion Parker, who had been hurt badly in the 10th by a right uppercut.
The Ipswich native brought the crowd to their feet and collapsed to the floor in celebration as his corner team piled into the ring to celebrate.
They were superb scenes as the former white-collar boxer continued his remarkable rise in the professional ranks.
There was an argument that the stoppage was premature, especially given Parker had dominated for large parts of the fight and hurt Wardley numerous times with right hands.
But the 33-year-old New Zealander offered little argument when Foster stepped in and his trainer Andy Lee did not appear to remonstrate as his man suffered his fourth career defeat.
"I said all the way through this build-up that we picked Joseph Parker because I believe I'm at the top and I proved I'm at the top," said Wardley.
"All credit to Joseph, he can't get enough respect and he deserves all the respect from the boxing community. He took a chance when he didn't have to, and we knew he wasn't going anywhere quickly. We had to pick our spots and eventually we got them out of there."
It was a right uppercut from Wardley in the 10th round which swung the bout firmly back in favour of the underdog.
This was Wardley's 20th career win and his most important. Usyk now potentially awaits early next year.
Parker risked his position as the number one contender for Usyk's crown by taking this fight, falling to his fourth career defeat.
Wardley's promoter Frank Warren told DAZN: "Usyk said he wants to do it, so that's what it will be. It's a 36-minute fight and it only takes one second from him."
It was a who's who of the British heavyweight scene in the arena with Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois, Moses Itauma, Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte among the onlookers.
Usyk was not here, but he was the man this bout was all for.
Wardley walked to the ring decked out in Ipswich Town colours with the football club's crest emblazoned on his kit.
He spoke in the build-up how it was remarkable that when Parker was winning the WBO heavyweight title in 2016, he was only competing in white-collar boxing.
Yet here he was on the same stage as the veteran Kiwi in a fight to determine the next challenger for Usyk, the greatest heavyweight of this era.
With Lee in his corner, Parker was a red-hot run coming into this bout of six wins including victories over the likes of Zhilei Zhang, Deontay Wilder and Martin Bakole.
As cries of 'Oh Fabio Wardley' rang around the arena, Parker established control with a ramrod of a jab that soon brought blood from the bridge of the Ipswich fighter's nose.
The finish to the first three minutes was emphatic from the favourite as Parker powered through with a rocket of a right hand.
Parker's control vanished when a right hand from Wardley rocked him in the second.
It would be a precursor to what would follow later in the fight. It was a beautiful shot and brought those ringside to their feet as the New Zealander looked unsteady on his.
The experience of Parker, in his 40th professional fight, looked like it was going to be crucial here. Wardley was always dangerous, but Parker was landing the better shots through the middle rounds.
The Kiwi's left uppercuts to the body and right hands over the top were a particular highlight, but Wardley's own backhand remained a threat.
The fight appeared to be fizzling out in the eighth before it burst back into life and swung firmly back in Wardley's favour in the 10th.
He ensured his stunning story would get another chapter against Usyk when he swarmed Parker in the 11th with a barrage of shots which forced Foster to step in.
It may have been early but Wardley will argue that Parker was taking significant punishment.
Usyk sought a medical exemption to delay his mandatory defence of the WBO title because of a back injury, but his advisor Serge Lapin recently confirmed that the unbeaten champion was ready to face the winner of this bout.
Warren will now look to make that fight next year for his man.
With just 21 professional fights on the back of no amateur background having come from the white-collar scene, Wardley is still raw and his ascent to this position has been considerably fast tracked.
But now he is in a position to take on the best heavyweight of this era which is a Hollywood-like tale.
Parker will now have to carefully consider his next step, given his age and how long he has been competing at the top level.
He took a huge gamble here and his chances of regaining a piece of the world heavyweight crown have been diminished.
