Joseph Parker vs Fabio Wardley Keys to Victory: Breaking down tactics of each fighter

Joseph Parker was excited to learn that undisputed heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk recently said that he will likely face the winner of tonight’s bout between Parker and Fabio Wardley next.

Well, Parker can help force the issue with a splashy victory over Wardley tonight at London’s O2 Arena, and live and exclusive on DAZN Pay-Per-View.

Parker (36-3, 24 knockouts) enters the bout riding a recent wave of revival, having won six straight fights including his second-round evisceration of Martin Bakole in February. The former WBO heavyweight world champion and current WBO interim titleholder will be up against an undefeated Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KOs) who is the WBA interim titleholder and last rallied to produce a 10^th-round knockout of Justis Huni in June.

With a shot at Usyk’s undisputed glory on the line, will Parker deliver another scintillating performance? Or will Wardley use his knockout power to record his biggest win to date? DAZN News analyzes the Keys to Victory for each heavyweight heading into tonight’s showdown.

Joseph Parker’s Keys to Victory

Feint, change levels often

A key to Joseph Parker’s success over this six-fight win streak has been his ability to feint and change levels often.

Doing this effectively against Fabio Wardley could neutralize the Ipswich, Suffolk, England man up enough for Parker to pressure forward and potshot him with clean, scoring punches.

Stab jab to the body, disguise punches

The more Parker can stab to the body with the jab, the more he might benefit from disguising the punch in order to land something more devastating upstairs.

Not only will this strategy help Parker land cleanly but it could puzzle Wardley along the way, showing him there are indeed levels to boxing and that the New Zealander has his number.

Launch the overhand right

Parker nearly stopped Deontay Wilder courtesy of the overhand right, scored with it against Zhilei Zhang and crumbled Martin Bakole with the same shot over his last three victories.

Simply put: The overhand right has emerged as a major weapon for the New Zealander and Wardley should be targeted with it.

Parker must time and launch the shot aptly against a Wardley who can be hit often. He does that and the shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed crown will inch that much closer.

Fabio Wardley’s Keys to Victory

Keep a disciplined, tight guard

Fabio Wardley has a habit of keeping his right hand cocked and loaded, while letting his left drop below his waist.

He cannot afford to show that lax guard to a seasoned veteran like Joseph Parker who is skilled and powerful enough to make him severely pay.

Wardley must make a conscious effort of keeping a high, tight guard tonight.

Force cramped quarters with Parker

Against Justis Huni in June, Wardley had his best moments in the phone booth via inside action.

He must force those similar cramped quarters to throw punches in traffic with Parker because simply allowing the latter to use his agility around the ring will leave Wardley as too much of a stationary target.

Detonate the right hand in traffic

Wardley was being outboxed for virtually every round against Huni until he uncorked a devastating right hand across the jaw that instantly knocked the latter out.

Against a skilled boxer-puncher like Parker, detonating and sitting on that right hand in traffic gives Wardley his best chance to execute another stunning victory.

Watch Parker vs. Wardley live on DAZN

Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley fight on Saturday, October 25, to become the WBO mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk. Watch the fight and undercard live and exclusive on DAZN PPV.

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