Following the media workout, Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley previewed their bout and faced off at the final press conference. The two fighters battle for the interim unified heavyweight titles this Saturday, October 25, at The O2 in London.
Former WBO heavyweight champion Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) of New Zealand puts his interim WBO title on the line. The 33-year-old South Auckland native said he is entering his prime and promised to dominate his opponent.
“For me, this is all or nothing,” Parker said. “I am not really thinking about losing this fight, I am going into this fight to win. And when I win I will be going onto the next fight. I respect my opponent and what he has done in his career and how he has prepared for this fight, but I am a different level, to be honest. And I am going to show it on Saturday night.”
“I have got many miles on the clock and many more to bring. I am only getting into my prime now.”
“Credit to Wardley for taking this fight, but it is the wrong time to take this fight because I am going to smash him. He picked this fight and I said yes to every fight, so we both want this fight.”
“He believes in himself but I know I am going to win this fight. He is going to learn that it is okay to have a loss and he has got enough time to climb back.”
‘It takes more than muscles and a bit of strength to knock someone out’
Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KOs) brings his interim WBA belt to the ring. The 30-year-old native of Ipswich, England, also appeared confident a few days away from the fight he described as “the biggest” of his career.
“It is a massive night coming up on Saturday. Massive for the pair of us sitting at this table and massive for me at this stage of my career as well,” Wardley said. “It is obviously the biggest fight of my career and biggest fight of my life coming up. So far, so good for me, every time I do step up I rise to the occasion and rise to the challenge. Saturday is going to be no different.
“The separation between where Joe is and where people think I am has been a common theme for me throughout my career. It is nothing new that I am hearing. Every time I step up to a new level, it is always this is a step too far until I come through and win and then it is the next step is too far.”
“I relish the challenge, I look forward to stepping up and proving people wrong, showing people that I am very much at the top level in this division.”
“I don’t know if it is positive or negative really that everyone focuses on my power, knocking opponents out. My record speaks for itself and I guess in that case it draws away from my boxing skill and ability. I think anyone with an educated brain in boxing knows that it takes more than muscles and a bit of strength to knock someone out.”
“It takes practice, timing, precision and you’ve got to work at those things. All this leads to boxing IQ. Just because my record is littered with highlight reel knockouts, I think people get distracted by that and it takes away from what got me to those punches.”
“So it can work to my benefit. If you think I’m going to be running around that ring with my right hand cocked waiting ready to go, there is a lot more you and the team need to prepare for.”
“He has been going around the block for a long time, with a lot of fights on his record. By no means is he an old man in the game, but he has been in the sport for a long time and had some heavy fights. Look, I’ve been in a few wars myself and I know they put miles on the clock and Joe has been in a lot more rounds and a lot more of those than me.”
“There are two sides to that coin of experience. You can take all that experience into the fight, but you are also taking all the miles in there as well. You can’t erase those, you bring them with you. It just depends how you want to look at it.”
Among the bouts featured on the Parker vs Wardley undercard, Ezra Taylor (12-0, 8 KOs) takes on Steed Woodall (20-3-1, 12 KOs) at light heavyweight. Juergen Uldedaj (20-1, 8 KOs) faces Rolly Lambert Fogoum (18-3-1, 14 KOs) for the vacant IBO cruiserweight title.
Danny Quartermaine (13-0-1, 4 KOs) defends his IBF European and WBO European super featherweight titles against Royston Barney-Smith (14-0, 7 KOs). Mitchell Smith (18-1, 9 KOs) and Arnie Dawson (8-0, 4 KOs) clash for the vacant WBO European lightweight title.