talkSport Boxing<\/a> about his fight with Joseph Parker on October 25. \u201cI very much want to be at the top of the division and pick out the top names.\u201d<\/p>\nWell, if things don\u2019t work out for Wardley in this fight, he\u2019ll have a good excuse for why he lost. He can blame it on his lack of experience for taking on a fighter of Parker\u2019s class. Ideally, Wardley should have been stepped up against top-tier opposition several years ago rather than waiting until he\u2019s 30 years old to give him his first real test.<\/p>\n
Wardley\u2019s Late Step-Up<\/p>\n
That\u2019s an advanced age for someone taking a step up for the first time. The question is, was Wardley assertive with his promoters all this time, or was he passively allowing them to steer his career in a painfully slow, time-wasting manner? Either way, what a waste for him to have stagnated for three to five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t get my hands on Usyk. Joseph Parker is the next best man in the division. He is #2, maybe #3 even. It depends on how you want to put things, but he is right up there,\u201d said Wardley.<\/p>\n
Yes, of course, Parker is \u201cright up there\u201d behind Usyk, if not in front of him. It\u2019s too bad Wardley couldn\u2019t get a proper step up against one of the top heavyweights that would get him more experience for this fight. One of these fighters would have been ideal preparation for Fabio:<\/p>\n
Frank Sanchez
\nRichard Torrez Jr.
\nDanier Pero
\nBakhodir Jalolov<\/p>\n
The only problem with those guys is that Wardley might lose to all of them, as they\u2019re a considerable step up from the likes of Justis Huni and the British-level fighters he\u2019s built his 19-0 record on.<\/p>\n
Fabrio says he wants to add the former WBO heavyweight champion Parker\u2019s \u201cscalp\u201d to his resume, and he feels this would be a big deal. It would certainly give him some credibility before fighting for a world title or being elevated to WBA or WBO champion if Usyk vacates or is stripped.<\/p>\n
Wardley notes that he has respect for Parker, but that will disappear when the first bell sounds on October 25. He\u2019s going to be all business, doing what he\u2019s got to do to get the victory. He\u2019ll have no other choice.<\/p>\n
Parker is going to be hitting him with some bombs in this fight just as he did in his fast second-round knockout of Martin Bakole on February 22nd, 2025.<\/p>\n
Huni Scare as Wake-Up Call<\/p>\n
Fabio states that he\u2019s glad that he had to struggle in his last fight against Justis Huni on June 7, as it allowed him to \u201creevaluate\u201d himself to make changes to his game to \u201cadjust\u201d for the Parker fight.<\/p>\n
Wardley states that if not for what occurred against Huni, he wouldn\u2019t have had the experience to assist him in preparing for Joseph. Fabio was behind 88-83, 89-82, and 89-82 at the time he scored a tenth-round knockout of Huni.<\/p>\n
Since 2015, Olly Campbell has brought readers clear ringside perspective and a steady voice on boxing\u2019s biggest nights.<\/p>\n
Olly Campbell has been covering boxing since 2010 and has written for Boxing News 24 since 2014. Based in the UK, he now reports on the worldwide boxing scene, delivering fight news, results, and features that connect fans to the sport\u2019s biggest stories.<\/p>\n
With a background in UK and European coverage, Olly has developed a style that blends sharp analysis with accessible writing, making his work valuable to both dedicated followers and casual fans. His reporting consistently highlights champions, contenders, and emerging prospects on the global stage.<\/p>\n
Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb Fabio Wardley Admits Joseph Parker Is No British-Level Fight: Calls Him #2 Heavyweight Behind Usyk Ahead of October 25 DAZN PPV<\/p>\nLast Updated on 10\/02\/2025 \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fabio Wardley says he\u2019s aware that he\u2019s not facing a \u201cBritish-level\u201d or \u201cEuropean-level\u201d heavyweight in his fight against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177255,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,77354,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-177254","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-boxingnqueensberrynleigh-dawneynlondonnall-or-nothingnlaunch-press-conferencenjoseph-parkernfabio-wardleynglaziers-hall","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}