When is Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley?

Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley is on Saturday, October 25. The broadcast will begin at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time (6:30 p.m. BST). 

Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley is available via pay-per-view on DAZN.

Where is Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley?

The fight is taking place at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Who is Joseph Parker?

Joseph Parker, 36-3 (24 KOs), is a former heavyweight titleholder who now holds the WBO’s secondary interim belt. Parker seemed to be on his way out the door years ago, but his last three wins earned him recognition as one of the top contenders for a fight with undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Parker, a 33-year-old from New Zealand, won the vacant WBO primary title in 2016 with a majority decision over Andy Ruiz. He made two successful defenses before losing unanimously to Anthony Joshua in their March 2018 unification bout. That defeat was followed by another four months later, when Parker hit the canvas twice en route to a unanimous decision loss against Dillian Whyte.

Parker rebuilt with six consecutive victories, including a unanimous decision over the unbeaten Junior Fa, a split nod against Derek Chisora in which Parker hit the deck in the first round, and a unanimous win in a rematch with Chisora in which Parker scored three knockdowns.

All of which landed Parker a shot at the WBO’s interim heavyweight title against Joe Joyce in September 2022. Joyce put Parker away in the 11th round. It seemed likely that Parker could no longer succeed at the higher levels of the heavyweight division.

Parker has proven otherwise.

Since 2023, Parker is 6-0 and has taken full advantage of prime slots on Riyadh Season shows. He outboxed Deontay Wilder and won widely on the scorecards. He survived two knockdowns to take a majority decision over Zhilei Zhang for the interim WBO belt. He was supposed to face Daniel Dubois for the IBF title earlier this year on the undercard of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol rematch. When Dubois pulled out, Martin Bakole stepped in on very short notice. Parker dispatched Bakole in the second round.

Parker will be facing another heavy puncher in the undefeated Fabio Wardley. The winner could have an even bigger opportunity awaiting them in 2026, be it a fight with Usyk or perhaps a collision with Moses Itauma.

Who is Fabio Wardley?

Wardley, 19-0-1 (18 KOs), is the WBA’s interim heavyweight titlist, something that situates him third in the sanctioning body’s pecking order behind undisputed champ Usyk and secondary “regular” beltholder Kubrat Pulev. The 30-year-old from Ipswich, England, stands 6-foot-5, one inch taller than Parker.

Last year, Wardley thrilled in his two outings against Frazer Clarke. The first was an entertaining 12-round draw in March. Their rematch in October ended with Wardley scoring a sensational opening-round knockout, one that left Clarke’s face dented and jaw broken.

In June, Wardley faced the unbeaten Justis Huni for the aforementioned WBA belt. Huni picked his spots intelligently, a strategy that had him well ahead on the cards after nine rounds. And then Wardley landed a single shot in the 10th for the knockout victory, bringing on roars from his hometown crowd.

So yes, Wardley can be outboxed, but his power is a huge equalizer. And yes, that is a familiar scenario for Parker. 

Will Parker be able to defuse Wardley the way he did Wilder? Or will Parker get dropped as he did against Whyte, Chisora, Joyce and Zhang? And how will Parker respond if he does go down – will he literally and figuratively rise to the occasion like he did against Chisora and Zhang, or will he be too hurt to continue, as happened against Joyce?

Meanwhile, Wardley was eventually able to get to Huni. He’ll need to have the patience, pressure and perfect timing to do the same against Parker, who is far more experienced and capable than Huni is.

What other fights are on the undercard of Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley?

The undercard includes a light heavyweight bout between Lewis Edmondson, 11-1 (3 KOs), and Ezra Taylor, 12-0 (8 KOs); a cruiserweight match featuring Juergen Uldedaj, 20-1 (8 KOs), vs. Rolly Lambert Fogoum, 18-3-1 (14 KOs); and a clash of unbeaten junior lightweight prospects Danny Quartermaine, 13-0-1 (4 KOs), and Royston Barney-Smith, 14-0 (7 KOs).

The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.