Fabio Wardley punched Joseph Parker to a standstill and salvaged another lost cause late on Saturday night at the O2.
Wardley was trailing on two of the three scorecards going into the 11th round of a bruising fight, but that situation is now becoming normal in his extraordinary career. He was losing the fight heavily, forget the drawn third scorecard.
It had been a brutal heavyweight fight up until the end at 1:54 of the 11th, and both men had been hurt, staggered, stunned and in distress several times before the final chilling moments. It was over, dreams were broken, dreams were made and Wardley’s ridiculous journey continued.
There was a growing attempt after midnight to boldly claim that the stoppage by Howard Foster, the referee, was too early. The evidence of outrage was gathered after the moment, after the final seconds, when Foster lunged between Wardley’s fists and Parker’s head. The referee, in a fight with that much intensity, has to make an instant decision at times, and it could change lives. If he makes a bad decision, a late decision, it could cost lives.
Foster went in, Parker was not throwing back and Wardley was letting his hands go. Parker did seem fine once he was rescued and Wardley was missing with some punches, but enough were bouncing off Parker’s head to make it, in my opinion, a good stoppage. The end – and all attempts to make it controversial – should not take anything away from Wardley’s win, Parker’s role in a classic fight and a night that was wonderful for the sport.
In the drama of victory, it was easy to forget that the trophy for the winner was a guaranteed fight for the undisputed world heavyweight titles. Wardley will now fight Oleksandr Usyk for all four belts early next summer, assuming Usyk does end his extended vacation with his family and return to his fighting ways.
However, here is the warning: Wardley being pulled off Parker, in front of about 19,000 fanatics at the O2, and Wardley walking out to fight Usyk will be another long, long and uncertain journey for the man from Suffolk. Spare a thought for Parker – he had the Usyk fight, but agreed to fight Wardley to stay sharp.
Forget the end, forget the magical Usyk for a second, because Saturday night belonged to the two fighters, each shaped in different spheres, but pulled together somehow in a reluctant fairytale of opportunities to deliver something exceptional. And they delivered from the very first bell.
Parker was sharp, fast and mobile in the opener, and it looked like Wardley was struggling with the speed. Just on the bell to finish the first round, Parker connected with a clean right hand and Wardley felt it. Wardley made a simple and slight adjustment from round two and it helped him – possibly even won him the fight. Wardley dipped his head away to his right and tucked it down, and it meant that so many of Parker’s straight right crosses – his signature punch – missed the sweet spots anywhere near Wardley’s chin.
Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing
Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing
Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
In the second, when it looked like Parker was taking control with his jab and his speed, Wardley connected and Parker’s legs stiffened. Parker was badly stunned, his eyes glazed and then, as Wardley let his hands go in a blur, Parker’s gumshield came out; there were 31 priceless seconds left when the referee called a halt to replace the shield.
There was bedlam, Andy Lee, in Parker’s corner, rinsed the shield thoroughly and it was a long break. Somehow, Parker survived the 31 seconds once the clock started and the delayed fighting resumed. It was great work from Lee to buy his boxer a few extra seconds of recovery – in Wardley’s corner, Ben Davison, was furious. He later claimed that there was no break in the action and therefore the referee should not have stopped the action to replace the shield. It was only the second round and the fight was already very special.
And it continued like that for most of the next eight completed rounds. Wardley was riding away from a lot of Parker’s big shots, but Parker was winning a lot of the rounds. Wardley did look more relaxed as the fight went on, an ominous presence, able to take Parker’s best. It was attritional in every round, even in the rounds when they each took a so-called breather.
They were both, understandably, clearly showing the signs of the brawl they had been in by the start of the 11th round. Wardley had slowed, Parker was boxing smarter and then the bell sounded for the 11th; I had Parker clearly in front at that point, but Wardley is dangerous forever, it seems.
Parker was trapped on two sides of the ropes, high above his own corner, taking shots on his head, shoulders, face, gloves and chest – Wardley never stopped throwing the punches that could deliver the win. It went on and on, the referee poised, Parker reeling, Wardley emptying his depleted tank.
It is always messy, a fight like that with so much at stake when two exhausted men are hitting each other late, late in the night. The entire crowd was standing, screaming in the final moments as Parker neither held nor threw a punch. And that cost Big Joe the fight. At 1:54, Foster went in, Parker was not happy, Wardley collapsed in joy and exhaustion to the canvas. The heavyweight classic was over.
Wardley will now await news from Usyk and Parker will have to look hard at his decision to take the fight. Wardley, by the way, is now officially the most exciting heavyweight in boxing. What a night.