Tyson Fury has offered an honest assessment of Joseph Parker’s stoppage defeat to Fabio Wardley, which remains a vastly contentious talking point among boxing circles.
The two heavyweights squared off in a thrilling battle towards the end of last month, knowing that victory would thrust them into pole position to face Oleksandr Usyk.
As the bona fide king of his division, Usyk has taken some much-deserved time away from the sport while, equally, remaining hesitant to firmly consolidate his next steps.
With Wardley, 20-0-1 (19 KOs), having claimed Parker’s WBO interim belt, though, he is now considered the Ukrainian’s leading contender with regards to the sanctioning body rotation system.
Prior to their clash at the O2 Arena, London, Parker, 36-4 (24 KOs), was not only made a clear favourite by the bookmakers, but many regarded him as the second-best heavyweight in the world.
It came as a sizeable upset, then, when Wardley, a former white-collar fighter, secured an 11th-round stoppage victory over his far more experienced opponent.
The dramatic finish materialised after referee Howard Foster intervened amid a Wardley onslaught, with Parker immediately protesting that the stoppage came too early.
Since then, the boxing world has largely been divided in its interpretation of what unfolded, as many have highlighted that Parker’s lack of activity gave Foster a valid reason to wave the fight off.
Others, however, have suggested that the 33-year-old was expertly defending the shots and, apart from in the previous round, did not seem to be in any real trouble.
But while that might have been the case, former world heavyweight champion Fury, who considers Parker a close friend, was quick to endorse the referee’s decision in an interview with BoxNation.
“I had Joe ahead by about four rounds. He got caught, didn’t recover – end of. Listen, he’s not in there to get brain damage; he’s in there to do the job and get out. He was taking a lot of punishment, and it is what it is – what can you do?”
Following the fight, Wardley himself has revealed that he would be open to a rematch with Parker.
