British heavyweight Fabio Wardley pulled off the biggest win of his career with an enormous upset over Joseph Parker to set up a world title shot against Oleksandr Usyk.
In a pulsating contest at the O2 Arena, Wardley showed he has one of the toughest chins in the sport as he swallowed several huge punches from Parker before forcing referee Howard Foster to stop the bout in an explosive 11th round.
The WBO had ordered the experienced Parker to face undisputed world heavyweight champion Usyk in July but the New Zealander put his mandatory challenger status on the line against Wardley, who was still involved in white-collar boxing when his opponent was world champion in 2016.
Parker promised to be a “different level” to the 30-year-old and that appeared the case for much of the bout in London.
Wardley seemed to have missed out on the chance to stop the bout in a back-and-forth second round and it appeared a sliding doors moment for the Ipswich right-hander.
Yet, after Parker could not get his rival out, Wardley roared back with a huge right to wobble the New Zealand in the 11th and a flurry of further punches forced a dramatic stoppage to continue his fairytale story in the sport.
