Joseph Parker vs Fabio Wardley: A World Title Fight In The Making?

Intriguingly, this could end up as a full world title fight sanctioned by the WBO. Oleksandr Usyk (24 wins, 0 losses, 15 KOs), the current WBO champion, had asked for a medical exemption to extend possible negotiations for a Joseph Parker fight, citing back issues.

Images and video of the undisputed heavyweight champion playing soccer and dancing in recent weeks have put that exemption into focus and prompted an investigation via the WBO.

Usyk could be stripped of his title, which would make the match-up a whole world title fight.

Parker Has Taken On Era’s Biggest Punchers

On paper, Joseph Parker is the easy favorite against Wardley. In his last fight, Wardley was getting outboxed by Australia’s Justis Huni (12 wins, 1 loss, 7 KOs) before dropping him with a single punch. It was a potential “KO Of The Year” type victory.

Fabio Wardley is spoken of in Ipswich gyms and pubs as a knockoff Deontay Wilder—the Tesco-value version of the Alabama Slammer. The trouble for him is, Joseph Parker won’t be troubled. He has already danced with the authentic article.

Against Wilder—the genuine item with a record of (44 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw, 43 KOs)—Parker outboxed him in their December 2023 Riyadh contest. Wilder seemed to be waiting to set up a perfect right hand to change the fight. But for the once-feared Wilder, it was a bus that never came.

Parker was last in the ring in February when he dispatched Martin Bakole (21 wins, 2 losses, 16 KOs). Parker will want to make this a boring fight.

O2 Arena Has Been Kind To Wardley

Trouble is, Wardley doesn’t really do boring fights. The Portman Road Punisher pulled it out of the bag against Huni, but has been involved in other dramatic encounters. In returning to the O2 Arena, he will be stepping back into the same venue where he had his career-defining fight in 2024.

In a match-up of two undefeated fighters, Fabio Wardley faced off against Frazer Clarke (11 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, 7 KOs) with the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles on the line. Wardley broke his nose but refused to quit, with both fighters having their moments in a split draw. He will bring that same intensity against Parker.

An unlikely winner in a Parker–Wardley fight might be a man who never throws a punch that night: Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk reportedly plans to sit out the rest of 2025 and could always face the winner in a bid to become a three-time undisputed heavyweight world champion.