Wardley must finish off Parker quickly or risk the counterfire

Chris Arreola says it is important that Fabio Wardley “finishes” WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker by jumping on him if he gets into trouble this Saturday, October 25.

Complete or be done

Former three-time heavyweight world title challenger Arreola states that Parker’s counter-punch takedown and “muscle memory” allow him to fire back to hurt Wardley (19-0-1, 8 KOs) if he doesn’t immediately go for the finish, stunning the New Zealander with one of his powerful punches.

Parker-Wardley face off in the 12-round main event on DAZN PPV at the O2 Arena in London, England. Wardley will have his interim WBA heavyweight title on the line.

Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) risks his WBO mandatory title shot against champion Oleksandr Usyk by taking this fight. Joseph is next in turn as the obligee. So, he shows a lot of courage by fighting Fabio, who is a big puncher.

Former WBO champion Parker (33) has won his last six fights after being knocked out by Joe Joyce in the 11th round on September 24, 2022. Many fans gave up on Parker after that defeat, but he has since revamped his fighting style. He has turned into a defensive fighter, but he mixes in strategic power punches to win his fights.

“Even if Wardley hurts him, how can he start trading with him,” analyst Max Kellerman said. InsideRingShow about Saturday’s heavyweight fight between Fabio Wardley and Joseph Parker.

On June 7, 2025, Wardley was consistently outboxed by his last opponent, Justis Huni. Things looked bleak in the 10th round for Fabio. In that round, Wardley unleashed a big right hand that dropped former amateur standout Huni flat on his back.

The contest was stopped after Huni stumbled after getting back up. At the time of the break, Wardley was training 89-82, 89-82 and another 88-83.

Wardley’s window of opportunity

“If he’s hurting, he’s got to finish,” Chris Arreola said of Wardley. “Parker does have that muscle memory where he easily counters, punches and returns it immediately.

“Like I said, once Wardley drops him, he better jump on him, but he better do it smart,” Arreola said.

Tom Galm has covered the global boxing scene since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, business trends and fighter psychology.