FOLLOWING his phenomenal knockout victory against Joseph Parker, Fabio Wardley seems to be next in line for a shot at Oleksandr Usyk and the undisputed throne. However, that hasn’t stopped Wardley admitting his interest in a rematch with Parker.
Wardley, 20-0-1 (19 KOs), stunned Parker, 36-4 (24 KOs), with an onslaught in round 11 whilst behind on the cards, pouncing on the stunned New Zealander to draw a controversial stoppage from referee Howard Foster.
In hindsight, many are suggesting that Parker was foolish to risk his WBO interim title and subsequent shot at Usyk by agreeing to face Wardley; who has now assumed his position and seems poised to challenge the Ukrainian for the heavyweight titles.
Yet, speaking on The Ariel Helwani show, Wardley revealed his willingness to give Parker a similar opportunity and face the Kiwi in a rematch.
“Joe is a great guy, and I’d like to thank him for the opportunity because he didn’t have to take that fight, I think everyone knows that. He had been on a great run, and he was edging his way towards Usyk.
“So, credit to him as a man and as a fighter, as a boxer, because he is one hell of a competitor.
“I would happily welcome the rematch. It was a fantastic fight, it was a great fight. The controversy over the stoppage aside, no one came away from that fight saying that it was boring or that it wasn’t intriguing or interesting.
“It had ebbs and flows all of the way through, it had everything in that sense [of what makes an exciting fight]. We will see how this Usyk thing plays out, we will see how it all goes, but I would be happy to rematch him.”
Usyk has announced that he will return to action during the first half of 2026, with Wardley now deemed the frontrunner to be his opponent.
