Tyson Fury is the latest to weigh in on the stoppage loss his good friend Joseph Parker took against Fabio Wardley last weekend.
Parker was the favourite going into this fight for the right to become the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO belt. He is a former world champion with much more experience in the ring. In his last three fights, he has beaten Zhilei Zhang, Deontay Wilder and Martin Bakole and has a good mix of power, athletic ability and ring IQ.
Throughout the course of the fight, although he was pulling ahead on the cards against Wardley, the Ipswich man always has power to fall back on and that’s what he did when he caught Parker in the 11th round. Once Parker was visibly hurt, Wardley continued punching until the referee felt the need to stop the fight, with some arguing it was early.
Speaking to Box Nation, former world heavyweight champion and close friend of Parker, Fury, gave his view on the timing of the stoppage and had no complaints.
“Good fight wasn’t it. Heavyweight boxing. I had Joe up by about four or five rounds. He got caught, did recover, Listen it’s not a night to get Brian damage. Get in there, do the job, get out. He was taking a lot of punishment. It is what it is. What can you do?”
Promoter Frank Warren has since confirmed that Fury, who was seated beside him at the event, agreed with the stoppage in the moment, too.
This was by far Wardley’s best win and comes after he rescued what looked like a points defeat against Justis Huni in similarly fashion with a late KO last time out. He is now pushing to challenge Usyk for his world title in the early part of 2026.
