Tim Bradley says the referee made the right decision to stop the Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley fight in the 11th round after WBO interim heavyweight champion Parker (36-4, 24 KOs) was injured at the O2 Arena in London.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Mouthpiece Moment
Bradley points out that referee Howard Foster saved Parker earlier in the fight by stopping the action in round two to allow him to rinse off his elbow and reinsert his mouthpiece after losing it while snowed under by punches from Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs).
Parker was then fatally injured, and with 40 seconds left in the round. His condition and the way Wardley buried him with punches made it clear that he would not have survived if the referee, Foster, had not stopped the action to allow him to replace his mouthpiece.
Ten seconds elapsed during the time the mouthpiece broke, allowing Parker to recover in the final 30 seconds of the round. Had it not been for that, the fight likely would have ended in round two with Wardley winning by a second round knockout.
The Drowning Man Analogy
The use of the analogy of the drowning mansays Bradley that the referee, Foster, couldn’t wait for Parker to stop struggling before jumping in to save him before he went down. In nearly two minutes of action in round 11, Parker had threw just seven batters. Wardley threw 52 pitches and struck out 27.
Parker did not respond physically after being hurt in the 10th round and was in no condition to fight in the 11th round. The referee, Howard Foster, saw the lack of punches from Parker.
Parker’s Seven-Punch Final Stand
With the outcome for the 11th round, Joseph appeared to be walking on eggshells, like a doomed man on the way to the guillotine. He had nothing left at that point in the fight after the punishment he absorbed from Wardley late in round 10. Therefore, it is not surprising that Parker had only thrown seven punches when the fight was stopped at 1:54 of round 11. He was too hurt to throw, and all he did was try to like Fabio.
“The referee saved Parker. That mouthpiece jumped out of Parker’s mouth, fell to the floor, and the referee took his time, picked it up and went to the corner. He gave it to the cornerman, he washed it off and put it back in his mouth,” says Tim Bradley on his mouth. channelwho talks about how referee Howard Foster saved Joseph Parker in round two when he gave him a time-out after he ‘accidentally’ lost his mouthpiece when he was drilled incessantly with punches from Fabio Wardley after being hurt.
“He (Wardley) lost his advantage at that point. He gave Parker (10) seconds to revive himself. Seconds to get life in his body. The referee should have picked up that mouthpiece and put it in his mouth immediately … You take seconds off the clock. This man (Parker) was hurt,” Bradley said.
Last updated on 27/10/2025
