.png)
5 hours ago
2
The 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 the referee, Howard Foster, to stop the bout in an explosive 11th round.
The WBO had ordered the experienced Parker to face Usyk, the undisputed world heavyweight champion, 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.
Yet, after Parker could not get his rival out, Wardley roared back with a huge right to wobble the New Zealander in the 11th and a flurry of further punches forced a dramatic stoppage to continue his fairytale story in the sport.
Wardley, whose shorts bore the letters ITFC for Ipswich Town Football Club, produced a sensational 10th-round knockout 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. The Ukrainian 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 the 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 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. The referee 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.
Chisora and Whyte will headline at Co-Op Live in Manchester on 13 December. The pair were asked about a potential third meeting after Whyte (31-4, 21KOs) won the first two bouts and although Chisora(36-13, 23KOs), 41, initially kept his cards close to his chest, he insisted the 50th fight of his career will “100%” happen.
“Yeah, if the contract is right. If the contract is right, but right now it’s not,” Chisora claimed, after he was greeted with big cheers. “Listen, I want the fight but the paperwork has to be right. You know what I’m talking about [Frank Warren]. The paperwork has to be right. The fight will be amazing. The fight will happen in December with Dillian, 100% and it will be an explosive fight.”
