DAZN commentator has one concern ahead of Parker vs Wardley fight

A huge heavyweight matchup is set for October 25 with WBO interim champion Joseph Parker facing WBA interim titleholder Fabio Wardley live on DAZN PPV.

For Parker, a meeting with Wardley would not have been his preferred choice. As interim WBO champion, he is in line to face current undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, but despite the WBO ordering the Ukrainian to face Parker next, there is little news of a deal becoming a reality. 

Instead, Parker needs to keep active and this is a sentiment echoed by DAZN commentator Adam Smith who gave his thoughts on the proposed fight during an appearance on talkSPORT. 

"It’s really important Joe Parker gets back in the ring quickly," Smith said.

"He needs a big fight, if Oleksandr Usyk is going to wait and maybe not fight until 2026, Parker needs to be back in the ring.

"I think it’s a really interesting fight against Fabio Wardley."

Wardley has quickly become one of British boxing's most entertaining fighters following his knockout win against Justis Huni at Portman Road in June. 

Up until Wardley landed the finishing blow in round 10, he was being comprehensively beaten by the better boxer in Huni, but in heavyweight boxing, it takes just one punch to turn a fight on its head. 

Parker will be a favourite going into the fight, but Wardley has been the more active operator and ring rust is a problem Smith fears could hamper the New Zealander come the opening bell. 

"The one thing against Joe, is this ring rust I’m worried about. When he was beating Wilder and Zhang and he looked like he was Turki Alalshikh’s favourite, and then he was going to fight Daniel Dubois with a big gap.

"Then he only got a couple of rounds in against Bakole, now another number of months later, he’s waiting for that moment Joe.

"I hope he hasn’t gone slightly stale, but I think he’ll be really up for this.

"Joe will go into this thinking he’s favoured, think he should win it, and Fabio goes into it with nothing to lose."

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