Wardley stops Parker, Usyk becomes mandatory

Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) locked himself into a world title fight with a dramatic finish on Saturday night, scoring an 11th-round TKO victory at the 1:54 mark over Joseph Parker (36-4, 24 KOs) in front of a big crowd at the O2 Arena to unify the interim WBA and WBO heavyweight titles.

The showdown Wardley was hurt by Parker late in the first round but fought well after that. What appeared to be the turning point in the fight was in the tenth round, when Joseph hit Fabio with a barrage of punches.

Wardley weathered the storm and staggered Parker in the final seconds. If the bell hadn’t rung, Parker wouldn’t have survived the tenth. He looked helpless in the final seconds, hammered by the younger, more powerful 30-year-old Wardley.

Parker was bleeding from the nose and was forced to the ropes by Wardley in round 11, eating the hard blows of the British heavyweight. The referee, Howard Foster, who saw Parker’s situation, stepped in to wave it away. It was a good move on his part as Parker looked like a beaten fighter, barely staying on his feet as he rested on the ropes. He took so many hard punches from Wardley that it was clear he was about to go down.

“This is my section now—Usyk, I’m coming!” Wardley said moments after the fight.

With the win, Wardley becomes WBO mandatory and locks himself in for a world title fight against undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2026. The payday Wardley will receive for that fight will be enormous, life-changing and generation-type money.

“He earned it; back to the drawing board,” the badly beaten Parker said in defeat.

In hindsight, the extra weight Parker put on for this fight was a mistake. He came into the contest at 262 1/2 pounds, and he looked slower than he had been when he was lighter in the 240s. In the championship rounds tonight, Parker looked tired and worn down. The fast pace Wardley brought to the fight also included.