Wardley to fight Parker in London on 25 October
Unbeaten British heavyweight Fabio Wardley will fight former world champion Joseph Parker at London's O2 Arena on 25 October.
Wardley, 30, is the WBA interim champion and has recorded 18 stoppages in 19 professional wins.
Parker, 33, held the full WBO world title between 2016 and 2018, and currently has the WBO interim belt.
With both men highly ranked by their respective sanctioning bodies, the winner is expected to earn a world title shot.
"Neither Joe or Fabio wanted to wait about and protect their positions, and credit to them both for this," promoter Frank Warren said.
"I believe this is a genuine even-money fight with a mesh of styles that I am sure will be eye-catching and highly crowd-pleasing.
"We promised to keep firing up this heavyweight division and we intend to keep all the contenders jockeying for position until the time come to fight for the ultimate prize."
Ipswich-born Wardley is known for his raw power and produced a one-punch 10th-round stoppage of Justis Huni in June, despite being behind on the scorecards.
A latecomer to boxing who began on the white-collar scene, Wardley has also defeated domestic rival David Adeleye and Olympic medallist Frazer Clarke.
New Zealander Parker is in a rich vein of form, having won six consecutive fights since his 2022 loss to Joe Joyce.
As mandatory challenger, he had been aiming for a bout with undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, but the Ukrainian's reported injury has delayed that opportunity.
Analysis: A crowded but buzzing heavyweight division
These two likeable heavyweights are in strong positions – highly ranked, and could easily sit back and wait for opportunities. But these are fighting men and it is not in their DNA to coast.
Parker is absolutely deserving of his world-title shot and remains the WBO mandatory challenger. The WBO has asked Usyk for medical evidence after footage surfaced of him dancing at a public event. No-one can accuse Usyk of avoiding challenges but you have to wonder if he is holding out for a more lucrative bout.
To put it all into context: Usyk currently holds all four recognised heavyweight titles. Parker is first in line with the WBO. Things are messy with the WBA – Wardley is the interim champion and Kubrat Pulev holds the regular belt.
In short, too many belts, too much confusion. The upside for Wardley is that if Parker is upgraded to full WBO champion, that might open the door for him to a world title shot sooner than expected.
Elsewhere, Agit Kabayel is the WBC's number one challenger for the title as an interim champion, while over at the IBF there is not even a clear mandatory challenger with veteran Derek Chisora, incredibly, sitting at number two.
But despite all the politics, the division is buzzing. It might not quite be the 1990s glory days, or even the Deontay Wilder/Tyson Fury/Anthony Joshua boom, but we are seeing the next wave emerge.
Moses Itauma looks like he is leading that charge. He is officially ranked number one with the WBA and WBO, but because of boxing's layer of 'secondary champions' he actually sits behind Usyk as full champion, plus the likes of Pulev and Wardley at the WBA, and Parker at the WBO.
After blowing away Dillian Whyte in August, talk quickly turned to Itauma fighting Usyk next. But his promoters Queensberry seem more inclined to give him a solid world-level test before throwing him in with the pound-for-pound king. Filip Hrgovic's name has been floated as a possible opponent.
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