Wardley to fight Parker in London on 26 October

Unbeaten British heavyweight Fabio Wardley will fight former world champion Joseph Parker at London's O2 Arena on 26 October.

30 year old Wardly is the WBA interim champion and has recorded 18 stoppages in 19 professional wins while 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.

Promoter Frank Warren says neither Joe or Fabio wanted to wait about and protect their positions, and credit to them both for this.

He believes this is a genuine even-money fight with a mesh of styles that he is 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.