Fabio Wardley knows what’s at stake when he meets Joseph Parker at London’s O2 Arena next month.

The heavyweights clash in a crucial bout that should determine who next gets to challenge Oleksandr Usyk.

Wardley is coming off one of the year’s most dramatic moments of the year, when he uncorked a huge right hand to turn the tables on Australian Justis Huni in June. 

Wardley, who has had a few sleepless nights since the Huni fight after becoming a dad for the first time, said of fatherhood: “It’s fantastic. It’s a great thing. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, very much.

“It was a nice little break away from having that massive night at Portman Road [against Huni]. And then, a week later, my first child being born, my daughter, and just having kind of a good solid eight, nine weeks of just being dad and not bothering with nothing else in the world was really good.”

Now Wardley admits coming home to his daughter is a good way of switching off from the job at hand, which is Parker on October 25.

“Having to actually come home to the little one is actually quite a nice little relief or kind of a shutdown or just taking my brain away from things after a long day of training, a long day of work and everything else,” he said. “So, actually, it’s working out pretty well.”

He is also motivated by fighting for something more now, too.

“Yeah, there’s definitely more on the table,” Wardley added. “More jeopardy, more risk, more reward kind of thing. In my brain, there’s more going. Don’t get me wrong, I was always hugely ambitious before and was always putting my max out, but this has added another level.”

Parker is another level, too. While Wardley’s impressive showing in the draw with Frazer Clarke was followed by a more impressive one-round destruction of the Olympic heavyweight, and that was followed by his come-from-behind victory over Justis Huni, New Zealand’s Parker represents another step up altogether, with Wardley taking on the in-form fighter of the division – unified champion Oleksandr Usyk aside.

“Look, it is a big fight; big step up,” Wardley admitted. “But I haven’t taken a step back in my career really. I’ve kept moving. I’ve been going and picking up titles. Every opponent has been better for one way, one reason or another, or they’ve offered something different. So it’s always been moving forward. Maybe this one’s a slightly bigger jump compared to the rest, but all in all, [I’ve] full faith in myself and full belief that I’ll come through and get the win.”

Wardley is 19-0-1 (18 KOs) and the Ipswich man is one of the biggest punchers in the division today.

Trained by Ben Davison, Wardley has shed the shackles of making his way into pro boxing from his white-collar background to the point of holding the WBA interim title. A win over Parker would put him at the head of the queue to face Usyk, and Wardley said the team has already put together “a fantastic game plan” although he does not envisage a distance fight.

“I don't think we do,” he stated. “We both like a bit of a scrap getting stuck in, both heavy-handed. So yeah, it seems a highly unlikely one that’s going to go the distance.”

Much has been made of Parker staying active and fighting Wardley, rather than waiting it out for Usyk to make his next move.

Wardley is one of those who has respect for the former champion for not just keeping busy, but for facing him and risking what looks like a certain title shot. 

“A huge amount of respect for Joseph Parker, because not only for what he’s achieved in his career, but also how he kind of had a middle point of maybe being a bit wayward and being a bit lost to it and finding himself again and coming back,” Wardley added. “That can be even harder than just doing the initial win in the first place. So massive amount of respect for him. But obviously, this is a fight. He is my opponent and the be-all and end-all of it for the next kind of seven, eight weeks. He is my enemy and I will get the job done. There’s a good level of respect between us. I think we’re fortunate in this instance that this fight doesn’t need all the drama or the pantomime stuff to sell it. It very much sells itself. You just have to look at our last few fights and realize that both of us bring drama and entertainment and you put two of us together and that’s bound to happen regardless.”

Parker’s headline run includes victories over Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole. Resurgent under coach Andy Lee, Parker lost the WBO title to Anthony Joshua in 2018.

Against Huni, Wardley had lost the majority of rounds but pulled out one of the punches of the year to end matters in the 10th round. Wardley knows a similar performance against Parker might not end in a similar fashion.

“Look, I need to make improvements, definitely, which is stuff we’re working on,” Wardley continued. “But again, that always comes with learning. And I’ve proven that once over already that I can put on a not-so-perfect performance and come back and get a great win second time around. Frazer [Clarke] one and two is a great example of that, of making the right adjustments and changing things. So I can look at my performance, assess myself. I’m always my own worst critic, worse than anyone else can be. So, yeah, look, it’s something we’ve paid a lot of attention to and something we’re making big improvements on.”

And, as a result, Wardley is keen he is not known for just a big right hand.

“That little kind of trick is good to have in the back pocket,” Wardley smiled. “And it’s good to put there, but there are other aspects to my game, other facets I would like to show off in this fight. So hopefully I get the opportunity to do that. Or, look, if it’s just a moment where I do land that big shot and I do become that one-punch KO artist, then I’m not going to say no. A win’s a win at the end of the day.

“Joe has proven that he can get in with the biggest punchers, take a shot and get back up, and I’ll know in my head that if I hit him, there’s a strong likelihood he might make it to his feet again. But I’m renowned for being a great finisher as well when I have my opponents hurt or rocked or whatever, so I’m not going to let off the gas.”

Of course, beating Wilder shows Parker has the poise and patience to defeat a one-punch KO artist. Parker neutralized the heavy-handed American, and should he beat Wardley, Parker will be on the cusp of the Usyk fight he covets. But victory for Wardley, and he could be next in line.

“It puts me in line for the top of the mountain,” said Wardley. “After this, obviously, the WBO will call the mandatory for the winner of this fight to face Oleksandr Usyk, whether that’d be for just the WBO or for all the marbles, so one way or another, there’s a world title looming after this fight.”