Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KO) says he is ready to fight Oleksandr Usyk for his four heavyweight titles after defeating Joseph Parker (36-4, 24 KO) by 11th round technical knockout on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London.
(Source: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Wardley’s 24-karat gold breakthrough
Wardley entered the fight holding the WBA interim heavyweight title against WBO interim champion Parker. There were moments in rounds 1, 9 and 10 where Wardley looked like he might not advance. What saved him was his resilience, his fighting spirit, and the way he gained energy when Parker briefly got him into trouble.
This is what turned the tables on Wardley in the 10th round. He was injured after eating multiple shots following a series of punches from Parker. He came back to stun Parker slow in the round. In the 11th, Wardley landed a smash right to Parker’s head, sending him back against the ropes.
The referee’s detention incites Parker’s ire
After a strange back and forth exchange, Parker fell to the ropes. Inexplicably, referee Howard Foster stepped in and stopped the fight. In response, an angry-looking Parker shoved Foster, letting him know he shouldn’t have stopped the fight. The arrest occurred at 1:54.
It looked like Wardley would have finished Parker off anyway. Wardley had a killer instinct and for Parker to survive, he would have to gaslight. It didn’t look like it was going to happen. Wardley would have hit him continuously if the referee hadn’t blown his whistle.
“I wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t concussed. You saw me go into it in the second round,” Fabio Wardley said in post-fight press conference after his victory over Joseph Parker. “It wasn’t anything earth-shattering. It wasn’t anything mind-blowing. It didn’t surprise me at all,” Wardley said when asked about Parker’s power.
Wardley actually looked dazed slow in the first round after being hit by a challenging right hand from Parker. But he came back sturdy in the second round, hurting Parker and hitting him with a storm of shots. It was a miracle that the Fresh Zealander made it out of the innings.
Usyk now in Wardley’s sights
“That was the goal and everything I wanted,” Wardley said of his thoughts on becoming a must-see for Oleksandr Usyk. “I can’t ask for anything more in this sport. When the bell rings, when Usyk and I finally get in the ring, he’s going to have to work for it.”
An eight-year slog to glory
It didn’t take Wardley too many years to close in on the Usyk fight. Fabio has been a professional for eight years and only started facing significant opponents in 2022. Since then, he has risen rapidly, defeating Parker, Frazer Clarke, Justis Huni, David Adeleye, Michael Polite Coffi and Nathan Gorman.
What was surprising was that Parker caused Wardley fewer problems than his previous opponent, Justis Huni, last June. Wardley’s situation against Huni was desperate as he was down for nine rounds before coming back and scoring a knockout in the tenth round. Tonight. The fight was close, with Parker leading by round 11 by scores of 98-92, 96-94 and 95-95.
“I would love to do it abroad. Bring him the belts, let’s put it on,” Wardley said of Usyk.
The season in Riyad is waiting to be decided
If Turki Alalshikh is involved, he will likely want to stage the Usyk vs. Wardley fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Assuming he actually finances the fight, as was the case with the two Usyk vs. Tyson Fury and the Usyk vs. rematch Daniel Dubois, placing the fight in Riyad would seem an obvious destination.
Fans just want to see Wardley and Usyk fight anywhere. This will be a completely different type of fight for Alexander than the ones he has fought so far in the heavyweight division. As we witnessed today, Wardley is a combination puncher who won’t give up. He puts constant pressure on you and you either try to match him or get eliminated.
It will be captivating to see what strategy Usyk uses to neutralize Wardley’s attack, as he won’t be able to do so while meeting fire with fire. It doesn’t have that power. Moreover, Wardley has too good hand speed and is great at combination shots.
World Boxing News provides a round-by-round scorecard as Johnny Fisher faces Michael Pirotton at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Fisher and Pirotton collide over ten rounds at heavyweight as Zuffa Boxing stages its latest card in the United Kingdom.
The Romford Bull returns to action with Pirotton standing in his way as the British heavyweight looks to continue his climb.
WBN provides a live scorecard of the contest below, plus live results throughout the event.
Fisher vs Pirotton Scorecard
Johnny Fisher vs Michael Pirotton
(Round-by-round scorecard will refresh every 2 mins)
Heavyweight Copper Box Arena, London 10×3
Round
Fisher
Pirotton
Round 1
10
9
Round 2
10
9
Round 3
9
10
Round 4
9
10
Round 5
10
9
Round 6
10
9
Round 7
10
9
Round 8
10
9
Round 9
10
9
Round 10
10
9
WBN Totals:
98
92
Official Result: FISHER MD – 98-92, 96-95, 95-95
Zuffa Boxing
Preview
Fisher faces Pirotton in the first fight of his lucrative deal with Dana White and Zuffa Boxing.
The Briton enters the contest with a 14-1 record, while Pirotton brings a 12-2 record into the Zuffa Boxing 11 bout.
The event is available live on Sky in the United Kingdom and Paramount+.
The Fisher vs Pirotton event unfolds alongside more live coverage on World Boxing News.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
World Boxing News provides results and updates as Johnny Fisher faces Michael Pirotton on Zuffa Boxing 11 at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Fisher returns to heavyweight action over ten rounds against Pirotton as part of Zuffa Boxing’s latest event in the United Kingdom.
Craig Richards faces Radivoje Kalajdzic at light heavyweight, while Lee Cutler takes on Louis Greene and Cesar Mateo Tapia faces Leo Ruiz at middleweight.
WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.
Results
All times are local BST.
23:41
Johnny Fisher defeated Michael Pirotton by majority decision after ten competitive heavyweight rounds at the Copper Box Arena. WBN scored the fight 98-92 for Fisherwhile the official judges returned scores of 98-92 and 96-95 for Fisher, with the third scoring it 95-95.
22:42
Radivoje Kalajdzic improved to 31-3 with a unanimous decision over Craig Richards, who dropped to 20-5-1 after a good ten-round scrap. Both men had their moments and hurt each other at times before “Hot Rod” got the verdict on the scorecards, which included knocking Richards down for the first time in his career.
21:43
Lee Cutler carded a unanimous decision win over Louis Greene in their ten-round middleweight clash. Judges scorecard 98-92 and 97-93 twice in favor on Cutler, who improves to 17-2.
20:52
Ahead of the three main bouts, Zuffa’s only female fighter, Kayla Allendefeated Edina Kiss via TKO in their super lightweight bout.
20:32
Leo Ruiz overcame Cesar Tapia over 10 rounds at middleweight, scoring a unanimous decision to move to 18-1 as Ruiz Tapia suffered a first loss.
19:29
Alex MacMillan moved to 5-0 with a second-round stoppage of Guillaume Azagier, who went down twice in the opening round and again before the finish at 0:32 of the second.
18:40
Rogelio Romero improved to 7-0 with a third-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Aurel Ignat, ending the cruiserweight contest at 2:12.
18:24
Alexis De la Cerda improved to 10-0 with a unanimous decision over Cain Lewis, taking the eight-round contest 80-72, 79-74 and 79-73.
17:42
Fred Pullen marked his professional debut with a four-round points victory over Leonardo Faretina, who was dropped in the second round.
Remaining Bouts
Johnny Fisher vs. Michael Pirotton — 10 rounds, heavyweight
Craig Richards vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic — 10 rounds, light heavyweight
TV Coverage
The event is available live on Sky in the United Kingdom and Paramount+.
Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
World Boxing News provides results and updates as Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins in the main event at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham.
Davies and Collins collide over 12 rounds for the EBU European featherweight title at the top of the Queensberry Promotions card.
Luke McCormack faces Kay Prospere for the vacant British super lightweight title, while Bradley Goldsmith takes on Amir Abubaker for the IBF International middleweight title.
WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.
Results
All times are local BST.
23:11
Gerome Warburton defeated Nathan Heaney for the second time running as the middleweight put an exclamation mark on his first victory.
Heaney walks away from the sport having been an entertainer through a long carer, without reaching the heights of a world title.
22:04
Liam Davies improved to 19-1 after Nathaniel Collins retired at the end of the seventh round due to a cut over his right eye. Collins had also been dropped in the opening round as Davies successfully defended the European featherweight title.
21:22
Bradley Goldsmith improved to 17-1 with a seventh-round stoppage of Amir Abubaker to retain his IBF International middleweight title. Abubaker went down in the fourth and three times in the seventh before the finish at 2:42.
20:10
Lewis Richardson improved to 3-0 with a shutout six-round points victory over Ivan Trofimovich, earning a 60-54 decision.
19:56
Luke McCormack moved to 6-0 and claimed the vacant British super lightweight title with a tenth-round knockout of Kay Prospere, who was counted out after a right uppercut at 1:28.
18:55
Michael Hussain moved to 5-0 with a four-round points victory over Nabil Ahmed, earning a 39-38 decision.
18:11
Nelson Birchall moved to 12-0 with a third-round stoppage of Lewis Morris, who went down before the finish came at 1:12. Lasha Guruli also remained unbeaten at 5-0 after edging Hughie Wilson 77-75 over eight rounds.
17:22
Early action saw John Tom Varey and Reese Lynch claim four-round victories to move to 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.
TV Coverage
DAZN provides full worldwide coverage.
Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
