After more than a decade near the top of the heavyweight division, Joseph Parker believes his time has finally come again. The New Zealander faces Britain’s Fabio Wardley on October 25 at London’s O2 Arena, as promoter Frank Warren has confirmed that the winner will become the WBO mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk.
Parker won the WBO heavyweight crown in 2016 by defeating Andy Ruiz Jr. in Auckland and successfully defended it twice before losing to Anthony Joshua in 2018. What followed was a series of setbacks - a defeat to Dillian Whyte and later to Joe Joyce for the WBO Interim title, which appeared to close the book on his championship ambitions. Yet under trainer Andy Lee, Parker has revived his career with six consecutive wins over elite opposition, including Zhang, Wilder, and Bakole.
His comeback seemed destined for an IBF title fight against Daniel Dubois earlier this year, but that bout collapsed when Dubois withdrew through illness. Instead, Parker found himself overlooked as Dubois moved straight into an undisputed showdown with Usyk. “I had the fight in February and thought I'd fight again in July or August,” Parker told DAZN. “It gets pushed and pushed. It drags on - it can be very hard to stay at the same levels. You just have to take the opportunities when they come.”
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Now 33, Parker sees the Wardley clash as a defining moment. “Everyone is talking about Usyk next, but Fabio Wardley is my Usyk now. Because if I don’t get this right, then Usyk never happens,” he said. “The me now beats the me that became world champion. I’m more focused, I enjoy training, and I’m a completely different and better fighter.”
With the WBO ruling that the winner will either face Usyk or compete for a vacant belt, Parker’s patience and perseverance could finally pay off. “I always believed I would be a world champion again,” he said. “I believe I can be the best in the world - and this is my chance to prove it.”
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