Fabio Wardley may have been the less experienced of the two and the underdog with the bookies, but if there is one thing he does have it is devastating knockout power.
And in case that wasn’t obvious, the still undefeated heavyweight proved again that he just needs one punch to turn the lights out on an opponent after stopping Joseph Parker on Sunday morning.
There will be some debate about whether the stoppage came too soon, but with Parker not throwing much back in return the referee Howard Foster deemed it necessary to step in and end the fight in the 11th round.
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With it, Wardley defended his WBA interim title and claimed Parker’s interim WBO crown, with his eyes now firmly on “the biggest carrot” in the division – Oleksandr Usyk.
With the win, Wardley becomes the mandatory challenger for the next shot at the undisputed champion, although Usyk could still decide to vacate his belt in order to take on another fight.
But either way, there is no denying that Wardley is here to stay in the heavyweight division, having disposed of Justis Huni and Frazer Clarke in his last two fights, with Parker the latest to fall victim to his power.
Wardley now boasts an unblemished 20-0-1 record with 19 knockouts and for so much of Sunday’s fight, it looked like Parker was the one on the verge of a stoppage.
But Wardley thrives in the choas and just as Parker was starting to land in a big way to start the 10th round, the Brit fired back in dramatic fashion to flip the script.
Suddenly, it was a miracle that Parker was still standing despite only minutes prior being in complete control of the fight.
In the end, it was a lethal right hand from Wardley that had Parker in trouble in the 11th round and from there he sensed his moment and swarmed the Kiwi, who couldn’t throw much back in return.
Parker STOPPED in “Seismic Shock!” | 00:47
To his credit, however, Parker was somehow able to keep his head moving just enough to avoid being knocked out cold and seemed like he had a chance to survive until Foster took it out of his hands.
Speaking after the fight, Wardley said he thought referee Foster could have actually stopped the fight sooner and said he “wasn’t hurting that much”.
“It sounds like a dream but this is real life. I’m proof of hard work, of passion, of never giving up,” Wardley added.
“What I lack in experience, I make up for in chin, heart, and fight.
“I’m not taking anything away from Joe but I wasn’t hurting that much. I put my feet in silly positions but I wasn’t busted. I’ve said before I’m not the cleanest fighter – but I get the job done.”
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