Joseph Parker will box Fabio Wardley at London’s O2 Arena on 25 October, it has been announced, as the WBO interim heavyweight champion faces the WBA interim-title holder.

Parker had been in line to face undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, who was ordered to fight Parker next due to the latter’s priority as WBO mandatory challenger. However, Usyk asked for talks to be delayed due to an apparent injury suffered by the Ukrainian.

While Parker’s promoter seemed to question the legitimacy of the injury, after seeing a video of Usyk dancing last week, Parker has decided to pivot and square off against Wardley.

Parker, 33, claimed the interim WBO belt with a decision win over Zhilei Zhang in March 2024, climbing off the canvas twice in that bout. He then retained the title with a second-round knockout of Martin Bakole in February, as the latter stepped in for an ill Daniel Dubois on two days’ notice.

Parker had been due to challenge Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title, but following the Briton’s withdrawal, the bout was not rearranged. Instead, Dubois went on to challenge Usyk in an undisputed-title fight in July, losing in the fifth round at Wembley.

Wardley will enter October’s bout on the back of a remarkable victory over Justis Huni in June. Wardley, fighting in the home stadium of his beloved Ipswich Town FC, was trailing badly on the scorecards when he stopped Huni in the 10th round. With that win, he won the vacant WBA interim title.

The result also kept the Briton, 30, unbeaten. His previous outing was an October rematch with Frazer Clarke, which Wardley won via first-round KO after battling his compatriot to a draw in March 2024.

Meanwhile, it is unclear when Usyk will be ready to return, but it has been reported that the 38-year-old will not fight again this year.

The southpaw’s recent victory over Dubois – which followed a 2023 stoppage of the Briton – kept him unbeaten and saw him become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion. Usyk first secured that status with a decision win over Tyson Fury in May 2024.

Usyk then vacated the IBF belt to facilitate a December rematch with Fury, which Usyk also won on points. In the meantime, Dubois was elevated from interim IBF champion to regular-title holder.

By beating Dubois in July, Usyk regained the IBF belt to become undisputed again. He previously reigned as undisputed cruiserweight champion – the first and, so far, only one in the four-belt era.

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