FABIO WARDLEY is ‘the new’ leading contender for Oleksandr Usyk, his stunning 11th-round finish over Joseph Parker putting him next in line – in theory, at least – for the bona fide heavyweight king.
That much – in practice – remains to be seen, but what most certainly does not need any clarity is the awe-inspiring nature of Wardley, 20-0-1 (19 KOs), and Parker’s clash at the O2 Arena, London, earlier this evening.
Parker, 36-4 (24 KOs), strolled to the ring first – as the “defending [WBO interim] champion”, that was – which made for a brief moment of confusion before the pair locked horns.
Wardley, meanwhile, was unsurprisingly draped in his Ipswich Town FC attire and, rather respectfully, chose not to keep his opponent waiting too long.
It did not take long, either, for their encounter to suddenly catch fire, as Parker, after establishing his speed in the first two minutes, unleashed a heavy onslaught that seemed to momentarily wobble Wardley at the end of the opener.
Yet Wardley, as he so often does, decided to fight fire with fire. Instead of seeking a moment of respite, the 30-year-old delivered a thumping right hand which – almost as if he had played an Uno reverse card – appeared to put the New Zealander on unsteady legs.
Parker soon spit out his gumshield, though, and after finding himself on the receiving end of a ferocious bombardment, the typically durable customer was able to regroup and restore his control in round three.
The following session then saw both heavyweights go hell for leather in a fierce exchange, with Wardley seeming remarkably comfortable amid all the chaos.
It was Parker, however, who enjoyed a largely one-sided fifth round, only for Wardley to nail him with several spearing right hands in the following three minutes.
Again, the Ipswich man sent his lethal backhand crashing into Parker’s skull at the start of round seven, and while his opponent came back with a few sharp flurries here and there, Wardley would always respond with his signature punch.
A closely-contested eighth round then saw the two man mountains, both of them visibly fatigued, engage in a slightly less frantic battle, this time sharing equal measures of success.
Following another spell of relatively low output, Parker then slammed his foot on the gas – perhaps in pursuit of a ninth-round knockdown – only for Wardley to once again respond with sheer fighting instinct, keeping his never-say-die attitude firmly on display.
That much was perhaps perfectly evidenced in the 10th frame, when Wardley did not just recover from a few torrid moments, but came back firing and almost sent his man crashing to the canvas.
Despite Parker’s willingness to match his opponent’s doggedness, a spell of one-way traffic then ultimately inspired referee Howard Foster to wave off the visitor at 1-54 of the 11th round.
In his post-fight interview, Wardley doubled down on his desire to face Usyk, who holds all four major titles, in his next outing.
And, sure enough, it would make for one of the greatest sporting stories if the former white-collar fighter was to even share a ring with the formidable Ukrainian.
