Fabio Wardley picked up the biggest scalp of his career this past Saturday in London when he stopped Joseph Parker to capture the WBO interim heavyweight title and cement his shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed championship.
Wardley’s win, however, was not without controversy; a large portion of the boxing public believed that referee Howard Foster’s decision to stop Parker in the 11th round was premature. Wardley responded to the critics of the stoppage Tuesday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
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“You and many other people [thought the stoppage was premature],” Wardley said. “It’s nothing I hold against anyone. Everyone is allowed their opinion. Everyone’s seeing it back [on a replay]; no one’s there in real-time. No one is Joseph Parker on the end of those punches, feeling those hits.
“I know everyone [looks at] it as, ‘[Parker] was up in the fight, it was a championship fight — with how much is on the line, he deserves an extra go of it and a bit more time.’ But actually, when you look at it, the accumulation of punches he was taking, not only in the 11th, but also in the 10th as well, it was really kind of showing the sway of the fight and the way things were going, and it was only going one way.”
Parker was ahead by scores of 98-92 and 96-94 at the time of the stoppage, while a third scorecard had the contest even. The New Zealander was hurt by Wardley in Round 2, but managed to recover and control most of the rounds until late in Round 10, when Wardley rocked Parker with an uppercut and managed to put together a barrage of shots — largely evaded by Parker — until the bell granted Parker some much-needed respite.
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The former WBO heavyweight champion appeared to have recovered entering Round 11, but it didn’t take long for Wardley to connect with another right hand and have Parker stumbling all over again. It was the second time Parker had been wobbled in less than two minutes of action, and after a sustained 40-second attack from Wardley — mostly blocked by Parker — without much of a response, Foster, the referee, decided to stop the fight.
“Even if you concede, and maybe you give him some more time, there’s still a minute [or] 1:30 left in the round. I’m still on top, I’m still throwing punches. For all that’s on the line, I know everything that is at stake as well. If everyone thinks that for the last minute or so of the round that I’ve got Joseph Parker hurt and I’m just going to take the round off and relax and chill out, you don’t know me at all. That’s not how I’m going to go about things. I get the finish, I get the job done. One way or another. That’s not to say that Parker [isn’t] a great fighter, a great competitor, great to have on the night, but that fight by that point was only going one way.
“It’s much easier for everyone to look back at in slow-mo and go, ‘Well, that didn’t clip him properly, and the one before did and didn’t, and actually he was riding it better,’ but ultimately the ref is there in the heat of the moment, and although Parker was taking some shots on the gloves, that impact is still carrying through. He’s still buzzed. He’s still rocking. He’s still a bit uneasy on his feet, so he’s not in an entirely safe position. And ultimately, as a fighter, we have a responsibility to show the ref [that we’re able to continue].”
Parker’s failure to provide a substantive response to Wardley’s onslaught justified the stoppage for many boxing fans. Uncrowned was present at The O2 for the bout, and the general feeling ringside was that the punches were having a visible effect on Parker, even though they were not always landing clean, and thus Foster’s decision to stop the action was a fair one.
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“We can’t just expect the ref to give us the benefit of the doubt,” Wardley said, “and for him to do us a favor and just go, ‘I’m sure Parker’s fine,’ or, ‘I’m sure Fabio’s fine. He’ll be able to carry on for another 10, 15, 20 seconds,’ whatever it may be. We have a responsibility as fighters to show the ref, ‘Look, I’m still in the fight. I’m still here. I’m still game. I can still exchange.’
“I’d happily welcome the rematch,” Wardley added. “It was a fantastic fight. It was a great fight. I think that’s one thing — the controversy over the stoppage aside — no one came away from that fight saying it was boring or it wasn’t intriguing, wasn’t interesting. It had ebbs and flows all the way through. It had everything in that sense. Look, we’ll see how this Usyk thing plays out, we’ll see how that all goes, but I’d be happy to rematch him.”
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With the victory, Wardley has taken Parker’s place as the WBO mandatory for Usyk. The sanctioning body is expected to formally order the bout in the coming weeks. Serhii Lapin, Usyk’s advisor, named the Wardley vs. Parker winner as the frontrunner to face Usyk prior to the bout, and so the expectation is that Usyk vs. Wardley will materialize. Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, which promotes Wardley, also promoted Usyk’s most recent fight against Daniel Dubois and has been involved in the Ukrainian’s past four fights.
Usyk vs. Dubois drove a 90,000-strong crowd to Wembley Stadium this past July, and to the surprise of some, much of the support that night leaned toward the Ukrainian rather than the home fighter. With more than 200,000 Ukrainians now living in England — including roughly 170,000 arrivals in recent years following Russia’s invasion — the country has become a natural home for Usyk’s fights.
Oleksandr Usyk celebrates winning the undisputed heavyweight title against Daniel Dubois in London this past July.
(Bradley Collyer – PA Images via Getty Images)
“I’m pretty confident,” Wardley said of his next fight being against Usyk. “I know him and his team came out maybe a week or so before the fight and said that they were keeping a close eye on the fight and they were keen to take on the winner, whether it be me or Joe. I’ve spent some time with them, I know them as a team. I believe them to be men of their word. I think that’s something they will follow up on, but ultimately Usyk is the big dog of the division at the moment, he does run the game, so it is up to him and whatever he wants to do.
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“All the belts on the line, undisputed, all of that — everything all wrapped up in one on top of a nice bow for Wembley. I think that does the job.”
Usyk would open as a heavy favorite against Wardley, though Wardley is no stranger to being written off. Wardley has been doubted in almost every one of his past five fights, but time and again, the Ipswich heavyweight has shocked the boxing world. Ben Davison and Lee Wylie, who form part of Wardley’s training team, are considered one of the best coach-tactician combinations in the sport and would no doubt relish the chance of going in the opposite corner to Usyk — something they might be doing in years to come with Moses Itauma.
“I haven’t sat there and analyzed or dissected Usyk’s fight style,” Wardley said. “But I believe — look, it’s heavyweight boxing. I think I’ve proven, if I’m in the fight, I’m on my feet and there’s breath in my lungs, I’m a danger to anyone, whether that be Oleksandr Usyk or whoever else. It’s a dangerous game. If the fight comes, me and the team will put something together. There’s nothing to take away from him. He’s a generational talent, but he’s not unbeatable. There are flaws there, don’t get me wrong. They’re extremely hard to exploit, but they are there.”
