In a pulsating encounter in London, Fabio Wardley of Ipswich found a way to stop Kiwi Joseph Parker in the 11th round and in doing so positioned himself as Oleksandr Usyk’s next opponent for the Undisputed Heavyweight title. Wardley’s rise from the anonymity and peculiarities of White-Collar boxing to the cusp of such opportunity is both romantic in its appeal and astonishing in its reach.  

He boxes in a way that both highlights his lack of Amateur experience and demonstrates strong, natural intuition and a sense he is empowered by liberation from any pursuit of technical excellence. The evidence of tough moments, spread across several of his recent fights at increasingly elevated levels, substantiates the idea that technical proficiency, while admirable, is not the sole arbiter on Fight Night. Wardley, in another of his erudite post-fight interviews, spoke of his resilience of spirit and aggressive style that cares little for prevailing convention and the reliability of his instinct and willingness to trade.