Joseph Parker’s next fight announced with heavyweight set to face seventh English star

Joseph Parker will face British star Fabio Wardley in his next fight on October 25.

The clash between the two heavyweights will take place next month at the O2 Arena in London, with it being the seventh time the New Zealander will meet an Englishman in the ring.

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The expectation is that the winner would get a world title shot, with Parker the interim WBO champion and Wardley holding the WBA interim strap.

Parker was scheduled to face Daniel Dubois earlier this year in Saudi Arabia for Dubois’ IBF belt.

However, the Londoner had to pull out of the contest due to illness, with Martin Bakole stepping in at the last minute.

The fight didn’t last very long as Parker dispatched Bakole in the second round – and he saw his chances of facing Dubois shattered when DDD agreed to take on Oleksandr Usyk.

The pair met in a contest for the undisputed heavyweight title in July,and Usyk proved to be too good for the 28-year-old – stopping him in the fifth round.

Parker is the WBO mandatory challenger to face Usyk, but the Ukrainian’s injury has delayed that, and he has wasted no time in sorting out another scrap.

Meanwhile, for Wardley, it’s his big break.

The 30-year-old has dominated the domestic scene for a few years, with Parker to be his first elite-level opponent.

After two cracking fights with Frazer Clarke, in which Wardley brutally knocked him out the second time, Justis Huni was his latest opponent, who he stopped late on.

Now, Wardley has a chance to take on someone of real pedigree.

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And ahead of the fight, Queensbury promoter Frank Warren has praised both men for getting the fight arranged.

He said: “Neither Joe or Fabio wanted to wait about and protect their positions, and credit to them both for this.

“I believe this is a genuine even-money fight with a mesh of styles that I am 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.”

What other Brits has Parker faced?

Once Parker and Wardley clash, it will be the seventh time the New Zealander has taken on a Brit.

The six so far are Hughie Fury, Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora (twice), Joe Joyce and Jack Massey.

Fury was the first Englishman that Parker fought in September 2017 in Manchester to defend his WBO heavyweight title, doing so on points.

Immediately after, came Parker’s first setback in his professional career as he was beaten by Joshua in a unification bought for the WBO, WBA and IBF belts.

The former Olympic champion won the contest on points at the Principality Stadium in Cardif.

One loss quickly became two as Parker immediately jumped back into the ring to take on Dillian Whyte.

The two produced a classic in London, with Whyte knocking Parker down twice before the New Zealander nearly secured a knockout.

But it went to the judges scorecards, with the ‘Body Snatcher’ winning on points.

After that came two bruising encounters with Chisora that Parker won before a shock defeat to Joe Joyce.

Joyce traded blows before sealing the knockout in round 11 for the best win of his career.

It looked to be a big moment in Parker’s career, but since then, he’s rebuilt himself to win six in a row, including against Massey, and now, his love affair with English fighters is set to continue.