Joseph Parker’s trainer, Andy Lee, predicts that today’s fight with interim WBA heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley will be a breakthrough. “fire station” which could end at any time at the O2 Arena in London. Lee jokingly says that the competition will not advance to the later rounds. “It’ll be over in two and Parker scored a quick knockout.
(Source: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Parker (36-3, 24 KO) will face his toughest test in a year in the form of 30-year-old Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KO). Although Joseph had defeated several high-profile heavyweights recently, they were older fighters – Martin Bakole, Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder – and were not in great physical shape.
“Shoot from the first bell”
“I think it’s going to be a shootout. Both guys are going to put their hands down,” coach Andy Lee said Boxing nowpredicting the type of fight that will take place tonight between Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley.
It’s easier to predict that it will be a shootout from Wardley because he always fights like that. It’s more likely that Parker will apply his retro Chris Byrd style to move and fight defensively today. Joseph doesn’t fight in anything more resembling the action-packed style he had earlier in his career when he was trained by Kevin Barry.
“Wardley is risky. There will be no later rounds. It’ll be over in two” Lee said, jokingly predicting an early knockout for Parker. “Nah, it could happen at any time. These two guys hit difficult.”
It would be foolish for Coach Lee to assume that Parker will knock out Fabio Wardley in two rounds, as he did to his last opponent, Martin Bakole, earlier this year on February 22. Bakole. He entered the fight weighing a colossal 310 pounds and was not in shape for track and field competition.
Last Friday, Wardley looked better on the scale than Parker, thanks to his waist and slim figure. It’s youth and dedication. If anyone was going to be slower, it would be Parker, who weighed 262 1/2 pounds. That’s up from the 255 1/2 pounds he gained in his 11th-round knockout loss to Joe Joyce on September 24, 2022.
Lee presents Parker’s plan
“Using his boxing intelligence, punching, moving and being who he is,” Lee said when asked how Parker could beat Wardley. “If he beats Fabio, there will be no one left to fight. Let’s hope Usyk will do the right thing and give him a chance.”
As you can see, Lee is concerned about whether champion Usyk will agree to defend against Parker next if he is victorious today. There really is no other fighting option for Oleksandr. He has already turned down a fight with Moses Itauma.
If Parker wins tonight, it will be him and the WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel as the most deserving to fight for the world title against Usyk.
Daniel Dubois will face Fabio Wardley in a rematch of a heavyweight slugfest from earlier this year, with Dubois defending the WBO heavyweight title he took from Wardley on that night.
Live coverage will kick off at 2 pm ET, and we’ll have results and updates during the four-fight, main card undercard, then live, round-by-round scoring and updates for the main event itself.
How to watch Dubois vs Wardley 2
Start time: 2:00 pm ET for main card, prelims begin at 11:00 am ET
Streaming: DAZN (Ultimate subscription or Pay-Per-View)
PPV Cost: As a standalone, one-off purchase Pay-Per-View, the price is $59.99 (or £24.99). With DAZN’s Ultimate tier, the show is included as part of your subscription.
Location: O2 Arena – London, England
Dubois vs Wardley 2 full undercard and running order
Fabio Wardley can turn his early success against Daniel Dubois into a rematch victory if he avoids exhausting himself chasing the finish. He proved he could hurt Dubois in their first fight. The harder task is keeping control when an opponent he has dropped continues coming forward.
Wardley scored two early knockdowns before Dubois recovered and stopped him. That leaves an opening for a different result, although better pacing alone may not be enough to prevent another punishing night.
Chris Mannix and Sergio Mora both back Wardley to win again on Saturday, with Mannix choosing him by stoppage. Mora believes Wardley’s eagerness to finish Dubois helped undo his promising start.
“If he just doesn’t punch himself out, he thinks about setting up that right hand, doesn’t get right hand happy,” Mora said to DAZN Boxing.
That is the adjustment Wardley needs to make under pressure. Once Dubois survived his biggest punches, Wardley needed something beyond another loaded right hand. Working behind his jab and putting punches together would give him more ways to attack without spending everything on a single finish.
Dubois deserves credit for surviving those knockdowns and returning to his jab. Mora believes his previous defeats helped him stay composed when Wardley hurt him. Wardley now has his own experience of a fight turning against him.
“I think he’ll be smarter after this fight. I think he’ll learn some lessons,” Mannix said. “I think Wardley wins by stoppage in this fight.”
Mannix’s biggest concern is what the first beating took out of Wardley. Learning the tactical lesson does not guarantee he will absorb Dubois’ punches the same way in the rematch.
Wardley’s power gives their picks a credible foundation. He has already put Dubois down twice. To complete the job, he needs to create another opening without allowing the pursuit of a knockout to leave him exhausted and exposed again.
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Jesse Rodriguez is willing to meet Naoya Inoue in March, yet that timeline still depends entirely on the undisputed champion waiting for him. Inoue may prefer an earlier ring return, which would leave Rodriguez on the outside looking in as he continues handling business at bantamweight.
Trainer Robert Garcia revealed that Rodriguez can make a March date work, moving up his original April or May target. Still, the camp intends to take on WBO champion Christian Medina in December first.
Robert confirmed the updated outlook to The Ring: “I previously said April or May, but we can be ready for March.”
While that shortens the wait, early 2027 remains unresolved. Turki Alalshikh pointed toward a January appearance in Japan. Eddie Hearn mentioned February or March instead. Clear alignment on a date is completely absent.
Rodriguez must fulfill a contract before New Year’s Eve, with Garcia eyeing December 11 or December 19 against Medina. The camp figures Rodriguez can enjoy the holidays, then jump straight into camp for Inoue.
That expectation rests on an ideal outcome against Medina. Cuts, bruised knuckles, or an unexpectedly brutal bout could easily force Rodriguez to take extra recovery time. Inoue would effectively be pinning his calendar on a fighter who still has to survive another bout first.
Inoue is already eyeing an eventual jump to featherweight. Sitting around waiting for Rodriguez to finish his stay at 118 pounds makes little sense for the Japanese star.
Garcia admitted neither he nor Hearn has received an official approach to begin talks. The public chatter is moving much faster than the paperwork.
Putting March on the table does not guarantee Inoue’s cooperation. If March works on both sides, the matchup can happen. If Inoue wants to fight sooner, Rodriguez will either have to scrap his December plans or watch this major fight slip away.
Bam is acting like someone who wants the glory of calling out Inoue without actually taking the risk of meeting him on his terms.
When a fighter gets an invitation to share a ring with the sport’s biggest pound-for-pound attraction, they drop everything. They do not tell the undisputed champion to take a number and wait until spring because Christian Medina is on the calendar. That makes zero sense. A routine belt grab against Medina does nothing for Rodriguez’s profile, brings in a fraction of the money, and accomplishes very little that fans care about.
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BoxingNews24.com has delivered independent boxing coverage since 2007, including original news, fight analysis, schedules, and results. Our experienced boxing writers cover major fighters and events worldwide, with published content reviewed by editors for accuracy.