Tony Bellew has had his say on Joseph Parker‘s upcoming heavyweight showdown with Fabio Wardley.
Parker is one of the heavyweight division’s most in-form men. He has had a long career that includes him being the WBO world champion a decade ago before he lost to Anthony Joshua, but he was the first man to take him the full 12 rounds.
Since then, he has lost to Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce, but also beaten the likes of Derek Chisora twice. His recent run includes impressive points wins over Zhilei Zhang and American knockout artist Deontay Wilder, and last time out in February, he stopped late stand-in opponent Matin Bakole inside two rounds when IBF champion Daniel Dubois pulled out of the fight late in the day.
Speaking on Froch on Fighting, former cruiserweight world champion Bellew sounded a warning about the dangers that Wardley can present, but predicted a win for Parker.
“There’s not a fighter more deserving [of a world title] in the world than Joseph Parker and he’s now got his next fight lined up. That’s not a gimme. Fabio is highly dangerous, it’s one to watch, great fight. I think Parker overcomes him, but Fabio is always in the fight as he’s shown against Justis Huni. It’s a brilliant fight and an amazing venue.”
Wardley looked to be losing his last fight to Huni on the cards but pulled out a late KO victory to take his record to 19 wins from 20 fights, including an impressive first-round KO of Frazer Clarke.
