Fabio Wardley speaks out on Joseph Parker rematch after controversial stoppage win

Wardley has not closed the door of possibility on the heavyweight rematch, after stopping the Kiwi in the 11th round of their interim title fight

Fabio Wardley has delivered his verdict on a potential rematch with Joseph Parker after his 11th-round stoppage win to become the WBO interim heavyweight champion last Saturday.

The British fighter, who is now the mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk, praised Parker for accepting the bout when he was already positioned as next in line for a title shot. Wardley also echoed Parker’s sportsmanship in being open to a future meeting between the pair.

“I’d happily welcome the rematch,” Wardley told Ariel Helwani. “It was a fantastic fight, it was a great fight. The controversy over the stoppage aside. No one came away from that fight saying it was boring or that it wasn’t intriguing. It had ebbs and flows all the way through. It had everything in that sense.”

Parker led on two of the judges’ scorecards and was level on the other heading into the penultimate round, before Wardley landed a sustained flurry of punches that forced the referee to halt the contest. The New Zealander protested the stoppage, insisting he was still able to continue.

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This caused controversy in the aftermath, with claims that the referee jumped in too early to save Parker, who, if exhausted, still seemed to have all of his faculties.

The win extends Wardley’s unbeaten record to 19 fights and 18 knockouts - reinforcing his standing among Britain’s new generation of heavyweights.

Fabio Wardley lands a punch on Joseph Parker (Steven Paston/PA) (PA Wire)

By claiming the interim title, Wardley has ousted Parker and positioned himself as the next in line to challenge Usyk for the undisputed crown when the Ukrainian returns to the ring in 2026, following his hiatus after knocking out Daniel Dubois.

While open to facing Parker again, Wardley confirmed that his immediate focus is on fulfilling his mandatory position.

“We’ll see how this Usyk thing plays out,” he said. “We’ll see how that all goes, but I’d be happy to rematch him.”

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