Fabio Wardley TKO11 Joseph Parker.. Fabio Wardley seems to have landed himself a shot at world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk with a stunning finish against Joseph Parker after once again being well behind on the scorecards at London's O2 Arena. Wardley now has both the WBA and WBO interim titles. A relentless attack from Wardley in round eleven had Parker, a former WBO champion, in trouble, and as he sagged on the ropes looking to recover, and even though he was avoiding some of Wardley’s attacks, referee Howard Foster decided that he had seen enough and halted the contest. Many are criticizing the stoppage as premature. Wardley made a good start in the contest and had Parker buzzed in round two, but that was as good as it got for him in the early stages as Parker began to dominate the middle rounds and was pulling ahead with the judges. 

 

With the fight seemingly Parker’s to lose, he went on the front foot in round ten seeking a knockout, but hurting Wardley was his major mistake as he galvanized his opponent.  Wardley shook off whatever Parker had to throw at him and came back with assaults of his own as he finished the round with a furious rally despite looking hurt and exhausted just seconds earlier.  Coming out for the penultimate round, Wardley carried on where he left off in the tenth stanza as he went after Parker with all he had. Some shots landed, plenty missed, but with Parker on the ropes and looking shook, Foster decided to call the fight off.  In the post-fight interview, Wardley made it clear that he wanted to face Usyk next.