FABIO WARDLEY SAYS HE AND JOSEPH PARKER ARE THE ANTIDOTE TO BOXING'S NONSENSE
LONDON, England - Fabio Wardley has described Saturday night’s clash with Joseph Parker as ‘the antidote’ to boxing’s nonsense.
The two highly-rated heavyweights meet at London’s o2 Arena this weekend after a promotion with barely a crossed word between them. The bout will stream live on DAZN PPV.
Parker is well known as one the sport’s nice guys while Wardley, without a hint of provocation from his New Zealand opponent, is in no mood to drum up any animosity.
And the Ipswich man believes he and Parker are now showing how it should be done in a sport which has been invaded by novelty match-ups and unlicensed fighting.
“I think we are the antidote to all of that,” Wardley said. “Especially in British boxing.
"When you have someone that wants to get loud and mouthy in your face, you want to shut them up. But also there's another aspect to that. Look, if you're going to be a time waster then go waste someone else's time.
“Leave me alone. I don't want to hang around for that. I've stayed very consistent in my career in wanting to stay busy, stay active, challenge the best and move forward.”
Wardley and Parker both currently hold interim versions of the world heavyweight title belts owned by Ring and undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The winner of this fight will be next in line to face the Ukrainian great for the belts in 2026 and Wardley is proud he and Parker’s encounter will take place in London.
He added: “Obviously a lot of big fights are overseas, elsewhere, at the moment so to get two massive top-10 or even top-five heavyweights in the world in the capital, at the o2 for everyone to come and see or to tune in for, it’s a fantastic thing to be able to give to the fans here.
“British fans are some of the best fans in the world, they do love their boxing and the o2 will be vibrating on the 25th and you know the kind of atmosphere they bring.”
Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) is one of the division’s most in-form fighters having secured six straight wins including victories over fellow contenders Zhilei Zhang, Deontay Wilder and Martin Bakole.
But Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KOs) has direct access to two of the men who have defeated Parker so far given that his manager Dillian Whyte and gym-mate Anthony Joshua beat him in back-to-back fights in 2018.
When asked if he would be picking the brains of either Wardley said: “I've got my own in-house team. As a team, Dillian Whyte has already beaten Parker. We're 1-0 up.
“So I don't even necessarily need to go over to AJ and ask him because I can ask the in-house as well. But I also wouldn't put too much stock in that either because it's a different Joseph Parker from back then. This is a new Joseph Parker with a new trainer, new team, new run, a bit of a new style and the way he goes about things.
“I think he has more IQ in the ring and just a bit more comfortable in himself as a boxer and in his skill set.
“There might be areas I might have a conversation with the team about but ultimately I want to do my own assessment and look at him for what he is now and what he has been in these last few fights.”
Joseph Parker - 262.4lbs
Fabio Wardley - 242.7lbs
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