British boxing legend Carl Froch has shared his thoughts on the intriguing heavyweight clash between Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley.
Parker has found himself on an incredible run of form in the last couple of years, where he has racked up victories over the likes of Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole since he was beaten by Joe Joyce in 2022.
As for Wardley, the 30-year-old from Ipswich remains unbeaten as a professional since his debut back in 2017, enjoying arguably the best win of his career in June when he knocked out Australia’s Justis Huni after being largely outboxed to capture the vacant WBA interim heavyweight strap.
Speaking on his own YouTube channel, former unified super-middleweight champion Froch assessed the contest.
“Fabio Wardley vs Joseph Parker for me is a great fight. Joseph Parker’s 33-years-old, but he’s having a late surge in his career, he’s had a couple of good wins. He was tapping on the door for a world title.”
“They’re similar ages. Parker in a late resurgence in his career, fully fledged professional, he’s been in there with most of them. You know what he can do and he’s looking good now late on … he beat Deontay Wilder, he had a great win against Zhilei Zhang. I like him. I think he’s a top fighter, he’s a developing pro even though he’s been in there, he’s fought AJ, he lost against AJ but he seems to have been in there with everybody and he’s just not quite of that elite world level, he’s not quite there yet. He deserves a shot now at another world title.
“Fabio Wardley, other than the draw against Frazer Clarke, he’s knocked out every single one of his opponents. Is he the British Deontay Wilder? … He knows how to fight, he can move, he can box a little bit. He likes to stand and have a tear up. He’s confident, brave, fit – he ticks all the boxes. But I would say, and I think the bookies would say as well, that Joseph Parker is the favourite. It’s just a great fight and anything can happen in this one.”
