Tonight (Saturday October 25) in the UK two heavyweight superstars fight for the right to a world title shot – it’s Joseph Parker vs Fabio Wardley and the stakes could not be higher.
London’s O2 Arena will be packed to the rafters as the 30-year-old Wardley (19-0-1) bids to continue his fairytale rise from white-collar casual to world heavyweight title contender.
The Ipswich man is the top-ranked contender with the WBA (World Boxing Association) but he will lose that status the moment he steps in the ring tonight (more on that to come). So he is gambling everything against New Zealand’s WBO (World Boxing Organization) mandatory challenger Joseph Parker (36-3) is a huge risk.
DAZN: Sign up to watch Parker vs Wardley live!
A shot at the great Oleksandr Usyk – the two-time reigning undisputed heavyweight champion – awaits the winner of this one. And here is our guide to everything you need to know for fight night in the UK capital.
UK start time, ring walks and TV details
So these are the key times for your diary heading to fight night in London.
The undercard begins at 4pm local time in the UK – which is 11am Eastern in the US or 8am Pacific if you are on the West Coast.
TV coverage will be globally on streaming platform DAZN (this is a PPV or pay per view fight, more on that to come) at 6.30pm UK or 1.30pm Eastern/10.30am Pacific.
In terms of that Parker vs Wardley main event, ring walks are expected to happen at around 10.30pm UK – which is 5.30pm Eastern or 2.30pm Pacific.
By the way, the UK clocks will change back one hour from British Summer Time (BST) to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the early hours of Sunday, but you DO NOT need to worry about that here, the show will be finished before that happens.
How to watch the fight live
So as we said this one will air on DAZN PPV, and the pricing is as follows:
- UK – £24.99
- US – $59.99
- Rest of the world – $24.99 or equivalent
Official Weights
The official weighin took place in London on Friday October 24, and Parker had a notable size advantage of some 20lbs. He tipped the scales at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) while Wardley came in at 242lbs (17st 4lbs).
For Parker this is just five pounds lighter than his heaviest ever weight, that was for his two-round demolition of late stand-in Martin Bakole in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. Wardley meanwhile is almost exactly the same weight as for his last fight – that one-punch knockout of Justis Huni in his home town of Ipswich in June.
Latest Odds
The 33-year-old Parker is a clear favourite in this one at 2/7 with Wardley a 3/1 underdog. You can bet The Draw at 20/1.
Joseph is a worthy favourite, as a former world heavyweight champion and coming off terrific wins over Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and then more recently Bakole.
Wardley’s fairytale rise from white collar star to top world operator culminated in that incredible knockout of Justis Huni at Portman Road, but he was heading for a wide-margin points defeat before unleashing that punch from the heavens in Round 10.
Fabio has incredible knockout power but Parker is the classier operator, and the odds reflect that.
Full running order and undercard
The full running order for that blockbuster Parker vs Wardley card looks like this (working back from the main event):
The interim WBO World Heavyweight Championship 12 X 3 Minute Rounds
Joseph Parker: 262.4 lbs
Fabio Wardley: 242.7 lbs
The WBA Continental Gold Light-Heavyweight Championship 10 X 3 Minute Rounds
Ezra Taylor: 173.10 lbs
Steed Woodall: 174.9 lbs
The IBF & WBO European Super-Featherweight Championships 10 X 3 Minute Rounds
Danny Quartermaine: 129.3 lbs
Royston Barney-Smith: 129.9 lbs
The IBO Cruiserweight Championship 12 X 3 Minute Rounds
Juergen Uldedaj: 199.15 lbs
Rolly Lambert Fogoum: 199.8 lbs
The Vacant WBO European Lightweight Championship 10 X 3 Minute Rounds
Mitchell Smith: 134.2 lbs
Arnie Dawson: 134.14 lbs
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Super-Bantamweight Contest
Mohammad Ishaq: 124.6 lbs
Jake Pollard: 124.10 lbs
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Super-Welterweight Contest
Jimmy Dean Wood: 156.3 lbs
Artjom Spatar: 157.3 lbs
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Featherweight Contest
Zayn Ahmed: 128.2 lbs
Engel Gomez: 130.9 lbs
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Super-Flyweight Contest
Tony Curtis: 115.15 lbs
Lakshmy Cantreras: 116.7 lbs
4 X 3 Minute Rounds @ Light-Heavyweight
George Crotty: 171.11 lbs
Bahador Karami: 167.14 lbs
4 x 3 Minute Rounds @ Welterweight
Anton Esson: 143.9 lbs
Jordan Ellison: Weighing-in tomorrow
So what is at stake in Parker vs Wardley?
As we said, this is effectively a world title eliminator – the winner will be the WBO’s interim champion and mandatory challenger, and next in line for a shot at the unbeaten Usyk.
Parker currently holds the interim WBO title, while Wardley is first in line with the WBA. But as we already hinted, Wardley will lose that status the moment he begins the fight as the WBO does not allow interim titles to be unified.
So there is absolutely everything on the line for both men and it should be an absolute cracker.
