Fabio Wardley halts Joseph Parker in Round 11 at the O2

Fabio Wardley’s precocious surge ended Joseph Parker’s nighttime successful Round 11, yet the New Zealander insisted helium was acceptable to continue. Referee Howard Foster waved it disconnected with Parker pinned connected the ropes arsenic Wardley chased the decorativeness successful a breathless heavyweight scrap astatine London’s O2 Arena. Parker made nary excuses. “Congratulations to Fabio Wardley for a pugnacious fight, he’s a warrior and astatine the extremity of the combat I thought I was fine,” helium said. “But listen, I’m not the ref… helium won connected the night, truthful he’s the amended man.”

Trainer Andy Lee, lasting feet from the action, said his combatant inactive recovered pockets of defense. “Joe was taking a batch of shots, but a batch of them, helium was blocking and slipping,” Lee noted. “There was an accidental for the combat to beryllium stopped, and helium stopped it… it could person been the different mode around. One punch present oregon there, it’s the quality of the sport.”

Parker’s resolve, Wardley’s rise

Both men had their moments crossed a frantic pace, yet Wardley’s unit told late. The Brit present holds the WBO interim loop aft improving to 20-0-1 (19 KOs). Parker, absorbing a 4th vocation defeat, said the occurrence remains. “I inactive person the occurrence successful me, I inactive do… I conjecture person to amusement that successful the adjacent one,” helium said. He accepted the referee’s telephone portion stressing his willingness to excavation on. “I felt good erstwhile they stopped the fight, but I’m not the judge, I’m not the referee to halt the combat oregon fto it spell on.”

Wardley eyes undisputed shot

Promoter Frank Warren said the sanctioning assemblage volition bid Oleksandr Usyk to look Wardley, targeting March successful London oregon Riyadh. Wardley embraced the infinitesimal with a grin and a challenge. “That has been the extremity for a fig of years now,” helium said. “I’m not readying connected getting successful the ringing with Usyk and going ‘thanks for having me’ and rolling over. When that doorbell does go, he’s going to person to enactment for it.” He adjacent joked astir hosting. “Give him the directions to Ipswich, I’ll springiness him my postcode, and we tin bash it successful the garden… bring his belts, let’s get this on.”

For Parker, the adjacent measurement is regrouping. For Wardley, the roadworthy whitethorn pb consecutive to the undisputed champion.