‘One perfect moment was enough to stop Parker’

Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) perfectly summed up his victory over Joseph Parker (36-4, 24 KOs) last Saturday by just having to be “perfect for that one moment” to score an 11th round TKO at the O2 Arena in London.

(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)

After the fight, Wardley made it clear that he doesn’t need to put together the “perfect” fight for 12 rounds. All he needs is that one moment to get the knockout, and he prepares to give away the other rounds.

The One-Shot King Speaks

The one-shot King Wardley pointed out that he is a “shunned fighter” in the division, and the reason for that is his hitting power. Also his willingness to walk through fire to achieve victory. This separates him from the other heavyweights in the division, who are unwilling to deal with the pain that comes from applying pressure.

Avoid for a reason

“I’m the shunned fighter in the heavyweight picture, and I’m backing myself against any fighter out there. I don’t have to be perfect for 12 rounds, I just have to be perfect for that one moment,” says Wardley.

Fabio’s win over WBO interim heavyweight champion Parker locked him in as the mandatory for undisputed champion Usyk. Wardley’s promoter, Frank Warren, said after the fight that Usyk would have to face him next.

If he doesn’t, he will be stripped of the WBO title, and Wardley will be elevated to the new champion. The WBO has already ordered Usyk to defend against their mandatory next. So that leaves him with no choice.

White Collar to World Stage

“Have you ever seen anything like this? Fabio Wardley has no experience, a white collar fighter now going to fight for the undisputed title?” said promoter Frank Warren BoxNationreflects on Fabio Wardley’s win over Joseph Parker.

It is a rarity for a fighter who worked in the business sector to start boxing at 20 and work his way to the brink of a world title without any amateur experience.

“If you bought that fight, how could you not be entertained? There’s always someone who’s going to whine. You don’t like it, don’t buy it. Nobody’s forcing you to buy it,” Warren said of the fans who complained about the undercard for Parker vs. Wardley.

Fans split on the undercard

Many boxing fans complained about the undercard last Saturday. They felt that it lacked any significant fights to justify the pay-per-view price on DAZN. If Warren had put one good fight with notable fighters in the co-feature spot, fans wouldn’t have complained as much.

“Oleksandr, I have the most respect for you. Let’s hurry up and get this fight going. Everybody wants to see it,” Warren said of his message to Usyk that he wants to set up the next fight between him and Wardley.