Parker Wardley fight to decide WBO mandatory challenger

Joseph Parker will face Fabio Wardley on October 25 at London’s O2 Arena, with the winner named mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO heavyweight title, the New Zealand heavyweight said as he pledged to stay active and even entertain a December bout against rising British prospect Moses Itauma. Parker, 33, enters the fight as WBO interim champion after a February stoppage of Martin Bakole and is widely expected to be the favorite against Wardley, while Itauma is scheduled to fight in Manchester on December 13 but does not yet have an opponent confirmed.

Parker said he did not want long layoffs and was prepared to fight again before the year ends if he comes through Wardley unscathed. Fighting once a year is just not good enough, he said. I want to fight as often as I can. If all goes well with Wardley on October 25, put me in the ring again at the end of the year. He added that he would welcome a match with Itauma, calling the 20 year old a great talent who is young, powerful and fast, and repeating, Ill take any fight there is.

Former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew and ex-super-middleweight champion George Groves both weighed in on the Parker-Wardley matchup,...