GB’s Wardley stops Parker in huge heavyweight upset

Joseph Parker’s ambitions to become a two-time world heavyweight champion on Saturday were ruined by Fabio Wardley’s huge upset, setting up his own chances of defeating undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.

After he stunned the veteran New Zealander in the 11th round of a fun and harrowing battle at London’s O2 Arena, the British fighter is now the top competitor for the Ukrainian.

When Wardley, 30, swarmed former world champion Parker, who had been badly hurt by a right uppercut in the 10th, he forced referee Howard Foster to stop the fight, earning the WBO’s “interim” title.

As his corner team piled into the ring to celebrate, the Ipswich native brought the crowd to their feet and to the floor.

The former white-collar boxer’s remarkable rise to the professional ranks was captured in stunning images.

The stoppage was argued that it was premature, especially given that Wardley had suffered numerous injuries with right hands in the fight and Parker had dominated the fight.

Foster, a 33-year-old New Zealander, intervened without much rebuttal, and his trainer Andy Lee did not appear to be remonstrate as his team suffered their fourth career defeat.

Wardley remarked throughout the build-up that Joseph Parker was chosen because he believed in and demonstrated his leadership.

Joseph deserves the full respect of the boxing community, and he deserves it. We were aware that he was going nowhere quickly when he took a chance when he wasn’t supposed to. We had to choose our spots, but we eventually managed to get them out.

In the 10th round, Wardley gave the opponent a right uppercut, which set the tone for the fight.

Wardley won his 20th career victory, and it was his most significant. Possibly in the early next year, Usyk will wait.

Parker lost his fourth straight defeat in front of his own time by taking on Parker, who would become the top contender for Usyk’s crown.

Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois, Moses Itauma, Derek Chisora, and Dillian Whyte were among the onlookers who attended the arena’s who’s who of British heavyweight boxing.

Usyk was not present, but he was the hero of this fight.

Wardley donned his football team’s crest and kit, which were emblazoned on the side of the ring, before heading to the ring.

He described how remarkable it was that Parker was the only boxer competing in white-collar boxing when he won the WBO heavyweight title in 2016.

Yet he was standing next to the veteran Kiwi in a fight to find out who would defeat Usyk, the greatest heavyweight of his time.

Parker had a red-hot run going into this fight, which included victories over Martin Bakole, Deontay Wilder, and Zhilei Zhang, with Lee in his corner.

As the arena’s cries of “Oh Fabio Wardley” rang out, Parker took control with a jab that quickly drew blood from the Ipswich fighter’s nose bridge.

Parker lost all control when Wardley struck him with his right hand in the second.

It would serve as a prelude to the conflict’s later events. The New Zealander looked unsteady on his and it was a beautiful shot that erupted in cheers from the crowd.

In this case, Parker’s 40th professional fight seemed to have a certain amount of potential. Parker was consistently dangerous, but Wardley was making the better shots during the middle rounds.

The Kiwi’s left body uppercuts and right hand over the top were a particular highlight, but Wardley’s own backhand remained a threat.

In the eighth round, it appeared to be dying before returning to life in Wardley’s favor in the ninth.

When he swarmed Parker in the eleventh with a barrage of shots in which Foster was forced to step in, he made sure his stunning story would face Usyk in another chapter.

Due to a back injury, Usyk requested a medical exemption to delay his mandatory defense of the WBO title, but his advisor Serge Lapin recently confirmed that the unbeaten champion was prepared to face the WBO champion.

Warren will now attempt to win that fight for his man the following year.

Wardley is still raw, and his ascent to this position has been very quickly ascent because he only has 21 professional fights to his credit, none of which have come from the white-collar scene.

However, he is now able to take on the most successful Hollywood-style heavyweight of the time.

Given his age and how long he has been competing at the highest level, Parker will now have to carefully consider his next move.