Ref Knew He Had To Stop Parker In Round 11

Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) says the referee, Howard Foster, realized that he had to stop the fight the second time he badly hurt WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (36-4, 24 KOs) in the 11th round of their fight last Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London.

Parker had pulled a fast one in Wardley’s eyes when he lost his mouthpiece in round two, just when he was close to being stopped. The referee, Howard Foster, let the fight continue rather than pulling the plug on it. If he hadn’t called a timeout for the mouthpiece to be reinserted, the fight could have ended.

Round Two Controversy Revisited

“We knew we had what it takes to win. Everyone wrote me off, saying, ‘This is going to be too much of a step.’ I don’t know how many times I have to prove I am the real deal. I am meant to be here,” said Fabio Wardley to BoxNation following his win over Joseph Parker on Saturday night.

Wardley sounded still salty about how so many fans and media members had written him off, giving him no chance of beating Parker. As Fabio says, only “three people” had picked him to defeat Parker.

Obviously, he’s exaggerating, as there were a lot of people who believed he would be victorious. Those are the ones who had taken a close look at the older fighters that Parker had beaten to rebuild his career following his 11th-round knockout loss to Joe Joyce on September 24, 2022.

No Mercy In Round 11

“The one in the second could have come earlier as well. I had him hurt. He didn’t go down, but he was hurt. He was just taking punches,” said Wardley about Parker. “The second time around [round 11], I think the referee realized that he can’t do that twice over and just let him off the hook.”

It would have been interesting if the referee hadn’t stopped the action to give Parker time to have his mouthpiece put back in when he lost it in round two.

“He didn’t have to take this fight. I’m a dangerous man,” said Wardley about Parker.