Wardley dominates late rounds and forces Parker to a premature stoppage after a brutal exchange of punches.
Fabio Wardley made a strong statement in the heavyweight division in London! The unbeaten Brit stopped Joseph Parker in the eleventh round at the O2 Arena and moved a step closer to his big goal – a world title fight against the undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Wardley (20-0-1, 19 knockouts) crowned his performance by winning the WBO interim title that Parker (27-3-1, 22 knockouts) had won last year against Zhilei Zhang. After ten intense and even rounds, Wardley landed a precise right hook in the tenth round that visibly shook Parker. In the eleventh round, the Englishman went for it, drove Parker to the ropes and landed a series of hard punches, whereupon referee Howard Foster stopped the fight at 1:54 minutes.
“I said all along that we were going to beat Joseph Parker,” said Wardley after the fight. “I knew I was one of the best in the world – and I proved that today. Big respect to Joseph Parker, he took the fight even though he didn’t have to. That deserves recognition.”
With this win, Wardley cements his status as one of the most dangerous punchers in the heavyweight division and moves into the spotlight as a possible challenger to Oleksandr Usyk.