Fabio Wardley vowed to keep “riding the wave” and insisted he will fight undisputed world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in his backyard after a dramatic stoppage by Joseph Parker.
In a pulsating contest at the O2 Arena, Wardley showed he has one of the toughest chins in the sport as he swallowed several big punches from Parker before securing the biggest win of his 21-fight career.
The WBO ordered Parker (36-4, 24KOs) to face undisputed world heavyweight champion Usyk in July, but the New Zealander put his mandatory challenger status on the line against Wardley, who was still involved in white-collar boxing when his opponent was the 2016 world champion.
Parker promised to be a “different level” to the 30-year-old and that proved to be the case for large parts of the match in London.
Wardley (20-0-1, 19KOs) appeared to have missed the chance to stop the fight in a back-and-forth second round and again in the 10th, which proved a sliding door for the Ipswich right-hander.
Yet Wardley went to the well and roared back with a huge right to reel Parker in the 11th and a flurry of further punches forced a dramatic stoppage by referee Howard Foster to continue his adventure in the sport.
Asked if Wembley was the dream destination to meet Usyk, Wardley said: “Yeah… I don’t know, I think I’d like to go overseas, I’d like to do somewhere overseas, bigger, something different.
“Maybe America? I haven’t been able to go over there yet. In the end it could be in my backyard, I wouldn’t care.
“Tell Usyk to turn up, give him the directions to Ipswich, I’ll give him my postcode, he can come find me and we’ll do it in my garden. I don’t care. As long as he’s there, bring his belts, let’s get this on.
“It’s been the goal now for a number of years, it’s been what I wanted and the goal. We’re there.
“It’s crazy to say, but one of the generational talents, one of the best to ever do it and with all the balls. There’s nothing more I could ask for, there’s nothing more I could wish for in the sport.
“Like everything else that has led me here, all I’ve ever asked for is the opportunity. And I’ve got it.
“I don’t plan on stopping here. I don’t plan on getting in the ring with Usyk and knocking over. That’s not what I’m about. When that bell goes, me and Usyk finally get in the ring, he’s going to have to work for it.”
Referee Foster’s decision to stop the fight in the 11th round sparked controversy on social media, but Parker was only able to land three punches to 26 from Wardley out of 52 attempts in an explosive round.
“I’m just riding the wave. Look, it’s been a wild ride, a wild journey and it’s nowhere near done yet. I’ve still got a lot more I want to do, a lot more to achieve in the sport and there’s a lot more to come,” insisted Wardley.
Parker was magnanimous in defeat.
“Congratulations to Fabio Wardley for a tough fight,” he said. “A warrior, at the end of the fight I thought I was fine, but I’m not the referee.
“Of course I wanted to continue.
“Listen, it stinks. Losing a game stinks. I’m not going to pretend I’m happy, but life goes on.”