Pick it: Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley
When to Watch: Saturday, October 25 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time (6:30 p.m. BST)
Why to Watch: Two heavyweight contenders collide at the O2 Arena in London, England. The winner could have an even bigger opportunity awaiting them in 2026, be it a fight with undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk or perhaps a collision with Moses Itauma.
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.
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.
The undercard includes a light heavyweight bout between Ezra Taylor, 12-0 (8 KOs) and Steed Woodall, 20-3-1 (12 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).
More Fights to Watch
Thursday, October 23: Joshua Pagan vs. Maliek Montgomery (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST).
Pagan, 13-0 (4 KOs), is a 25-year-old lightweight from Grand Rapids, Michigan. This will be his third fight of 2025. Pagan won an eight-round decision over the 14-7 Ronal Ron in February and took a 10-round victory over the 13-2-1 James Bernadin in June.
Montgomery, 20-1 (18 KOs), is a 30-year-old from Macon, Georgia, now living in Las Vegas. He is coming off his first defeat, having been outpointed in March by the 21-3-1 Jeremy Hill.
They will main event at the Coliseíto Pedrín Zorrilla in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The undercard features several prospects, including Puerto Rico’s own Ashleyann Lozada, 2-0 (1 KO), a featherweight who competed in the 2024 Olympics. Lozada’s foe is Melissa Oddessa Parker, 6-3-1 (2 KOs).
Thursday, October 23: Dante Kirkman vs. Wesley Vanderlinden (Triller TV)
The broadcast begins at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (3 a.m. BST).
This combined boxing and MMA show takes place in Costa Mesa, California. Two prospects are scheduled in separate boxing matches.
In one, middleweight Dante Kirkman, 5-0 (2 KOs), will face Wesley Vanderlinden, 4-1-1 (4 KOs). Neither man has ever beaten an opponent with a winning record. Even Vanderlinden’s draw and loss came against foes with records, respectively, of 0-9-2 and 3-6-2.
And in the other, lightweight Johnny Canas, 7-0 (2 KOs), will take on David Reyes, 3-4-1 (2 KOs). Canas has never beaten a foe with more wins than losses, while Reyes has, but it’s fair to assume that Canas is the favorite in this match.
Friday, October 24: Martin Leon Morales vs. Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz (ESPN Deportes)
The broadcast begins at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (3 a.m. BST).
These two lightweights headline in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Morales is 17-5 (11 KOs) and has lost five of his last eight outings, including back-to-back decision defeats to the 18-1 Diego Torres Nunez (UD10 in May 2024) and the 17-1 Angel Daniel Garcia (MD10 in February 2025). Quiroz is 17-2 (13 KOs) and was last seen in July, dropping a wide decision to Joe Cordina.
Also on this show is a junior lightweight bout between Edwing Zaid Davila Chavez and Isai Misael Aldana Leon. Chavez is 23-3 (11 KOs) and has won two straight since getting stopped in the eighth round by Mauricio Lara this past January. Leon is 12-0 (6 KOs) and coming off an eight-round split decision over the 5-3 Francisco Vital Macias in May.
Saturday, October 25: Alessio Bisutti vs. Tinnaphop Kittipayak (TrillerTV.com)
The broadcast begins at 2 a.m. Eastern Time (7 a.m. BST).
This show in Bangkok, Thailand, features heavyweights in the main event. Bisutti is 14-1 (12 KOs) and edged the 23-16-1 Panya Chomphoophuang over 12 rounds in August. Kittipayak is 7-0 (7 KOs) and spent just 56 seconds putting away an 0-1 foe in April.
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.
