Wardley stopped Parker, becoming USYK compulsory

Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 Kos) locked himself into the world title battle with a dramatic finale on Saturday night, scoring Tko’s victory in the 11th round on the 1:54 mark against Joseph Parker (36-4, 24 kos) in front of a large crowd in the O2 arena to unite the WBA and WBO interim heavyweight titles.

Wardley was hurt late in the first round by Parker, but fought well afterwards. What turned out to be a turning point in the tenth round, when Joseph Fabio struck with a barrage of punch.

Wardley overcome the storm and sisted Parker in the final seconds. If the bell had not sung, Parker would not have survived the tenth. He looked helpless in the final seconds, hammered by a junior, more powerful, 30 -year -old Wardley.

Bleeding from the nose, Parker was forced to the ropes by Wardley in round 11, eating the hard punches of Britain’s heavy weight. Seeing Parker’s situation, referee Howard Foster jumped in to fly. It was a good move on his behalf, as Parker looked like a beaten warrior, barely staying on his feet at rest on the ropes. He had taken so much hard punch from Wardley that he was clearly about to go down.

“This is my section now – usyk, I’m coming!” Wardley says moments after the battle.

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

“He won it; back to the Drawing Board,” said the Parker who was beaten badly in defeat.

In retrospect, a mistake was the extra pressure Parker had put for this battle. He came into the 262 1/2 lbs competition, and looked slower than he had been when he had been lighter in the 240s. In the rounds of the Championship tonight, Parker seemed tired and looked at Bargoed. The fast pace that Wardley brought to the fight was also a consideration.