\u201cMy goal has been champion of the world, but the goal has changed,\u201d Parker tells The Independent, on a call with other reporters. \u201cNow, I just want to bash everyone in front of me \u2013\u00a0in a nice way!\u201d<\/p>\n
There is the softener, at the end. And while it is reassuring to see the New Zealander maintain composure where others would falter, you couldn\u2019t blame Parker for starting to crack ever so slightly<\/a>.<\/p>\n As he recalls, his dream of becoming a two-time world heavyweight champion was \u201ctaken from us two days before the fight\u201d in February, when Daniel Dubois withdrew from a title defence due to illness<\/a>. Any frustrations that the usually understanding Parker had, he took out on Dubois\u2019s short-notice replacement, felling boxing\u2019s \u201cmost-avoided heavyweight\u201d in just two rounds<\/a>. <\/p>\n The performance was as close as you will get to seeing a mean streak in Parker. One might infer a certain injustice in what followed. Dubois, despite his withdrawal, got a second unsuccessful crack at Usyk five months later<\/a>. At the same time, Parker was forced to wait \u2013 only for an injured Usyk to withdraw from negotiations with the Kiwi this summer, after being ordered to face Parker<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe politics of boxing are quite remarkable,\u201d Parker says (Joe, you can use a harsher adjective \u2013 we won\u2019t blame you!). \u201cSometimes, the better you do and the higher you get in boxing, the more those politics take over. I\u2019m not sure why Usyk is waiting for so long. He\u2019s a great champion and has done tremendous things. But for us \u2013 not just the fighters at the top but all heavyweights \u2013 we want to see a bit more movement with the world titles. So, Usyk: Come on, man! Come on! We need a bit of action.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Joseph Parker (centre) demolished Martin Bakole in two rounds in February (Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cNo regrets [if the Usyk fight never happens]. If Usyk is available? Great, smash his face. But if hes not available, whoever is in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n While Parker has been hard done by, it was his decision to risk his spot against Bakole in February, and it was his decision to risk it again on Saturday, when he takes on Fabio Wardley<\/a> at London\u2019s O2 Arena \u2013 defending his WBO interim title against the Briton. Indeed, Parker gave little thought to the prospect of waiting for Dubois or Usyk.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, there\u2019s no point holding out,\u201d he tells The Independent, \u201cbecause if you hold out and this fight doesn\u2019t come, you just wasted all this time. And with family… time goes fast and the kids grow up real fast. Time doesn\u2019t wait for anyone. It\u2019s the same in boxing. I was offered a fight in April, I said \u2018yes\u2019, and it didn\u2019t come through. In May, in June, when I was offered all these fights, [I accepted].\u201d<\/p>\n Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing<\/p>\n Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n Buy Now<\/a><\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.<\/p>\n Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing<\/p>\n Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n Buy Now<\/a><\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.<\/p>\n Wardley said yes back<\/a>. And so on Saturday, Parker returns to the scene of one of his three professional defeats: the O2, where Dillian Whyte beat Parker in 2018, and where Whyte\u2019s mentee Wardley will try to do the same.<\/p>\n Wardley will enter the fight on the back of a remarkable outing against Justis Huni in June. The Ipswich Town fan, competing at his football team\u2019s stadium, was getting beaten up badly when he suddenly produced a one-punch KO in round 10<\/a>. With that, Wardley stayed unbeaten, yet certain deficiencies were clear.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Fabio Wardley (left) was trailing on the scorecards when he shocked Justis Huni with a late knockout (Getty Images)<\/p>\n Still, Parker advises against judging Wardley on that performance alone.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people are judging him too harshly on that,\u201d Parker says, \u201cbecause if you look at the other performances… Someone like a Frazer [Clarke] has been in the game for a long, long time as an amateur, and the way that Fabio was able to fight the first fight to the second fight<\/a>, [he] made his adjustments and put on a devastating knockout in the second fight<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, Wardley battled Clarke to a draw at the O2 in March 2024<\/a>, in one of the fights of the year, only to eviscerate the \u201cEraser\u201d in the first round of their October rematch. It was a sickening shot that ended proceedings<\/a>, as Clarke was left with a dent in the side of his head<\/a>.<\/p>\n That was an enthralling exhibit of Wardley\u2019s power, as was his neutralisation of Huni. \u201cHe was getting outboxed, but like they always say: \u2018It just takes one punch,\u2019\u201d Parker shrugs. \u201cThat\u2019s a big example of a fight that takes one punch to change everything.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Parker and Wardley will go head to head at the O2 Arena in London (PA Wire)<\/p>\n As such, and wisely, Parker insists: \u201cWardley has my full attention. I\u2019m excited to see what he\u2019ll bring, what shape he is in, how he\u2019s been training. I want to see him face-to-face, to size him up. He has a great team behind him, great belief, and I think it will be a very interesting fight.\u201d<\/p>\n For Parker to seal a fight with undisputed champion Usyk, Saturday may need to be a very specific kind of interesting. But whether it brings a merciless knockout or an attritional brawl, it must deliver a Parker victory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-227379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Joseph](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI241019863.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"DAZN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DAZN.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Fabio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wardley-Huni.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Parker](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/358bdff5c8e0383e31e6455b2d6dddb0Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzU3NTEyNzU4-2.81544895.jpg\")
<\/p>\n