Carl Froch delivers verdict on Wardley-Parker clash

Carl Froch admits he would have liked to have seen Fabio Wardley’s stunning comeback victory over Joseph Parker go the distance on Saturday night, live on DAZN PPV .

Ipswich native Wardley claimed the WBO 'interim' title when he forced referee Howard Foster to stop the fight in the 11th round as he dominated former world champion Parker, who had been hurt badly in the previous round by a right uppercut.

The British fighter is now the number one challenger for  undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk after his bruising victory over Parker at London's O2 Arena.

Froch hailed the quality of the bout but feels it might have been allowed to continue.

He told his Youtube channel Froch on Fighting: “It was one hell of a fight – I’ve never seen a heavyweight fight like that since maybe Usyk-Fury in their first fight.

“Forget them. Joseph Parker came and he used his experience and he was confident and full of belief thinking he was going to go in there and get the job done.

“I think Parker, on my card, up until the 10th round was ahead.

“I think he was 6-4 going into the 11th but in round 10 Fabio Wardley landed a big shot on Parker, caught him, hurt him and he was kind of saved by the bell.

“The bell went and he got ushered back to his corner by the referee, sat down on the stool and must have thought ‘bloody hell, I’m in a fight here’.”

Carl Froch reacts to Fabio Wardley’s win over Joseph Parker

Yet Wardley showed his talent to stop Parker in the 11th round and the Kiwi offered little argument when Foster stepped in to bring it to a halt.

Furthermore, the 33-year-old’s trainer Andy Lee did not appear to remonstrate as his man suffered his fourth career defeat.

Froch added: “Let’s zoom in to round 11, Fabio Wardley comes out and puts it on Parker and didn’t let off.

“As soon as he clipped him and had him hurt he just didn’t let go … He’s just super fit.

“A lot of stuff was wasted, he was smothering his work a bit, but he was getting through and he was catching Parker, wobbling them back.

“Referee Howard Foster, one of the best referees in the business even though he’s getting stick now, he was looking closely at Parker’s eyes.

“Wardley’s assault was ferocious. Parker, for me, should’ve grabbed hold of him in survival mode or maybe even take a knee, but he didn’t get caught with anything that bad because it was messy.

“The general consensus is that it was stopped too early. One of my friends phoned me up straightaway saying ‘what a load of crap, that’s out of order.’

“I said ‘listen, Howard Foster’s the best in the business, he knows the game. He’s in close. He’s looking in Parker’s eyes’.

“If he didn’t see anything back then he’s gonna stop the fight.

“For me, I’d have liked to see the fight go on. Parker was ahead on my card. It was a close fight.

“He wasn’t getting caught with anything clean, he hadn’t been down, he wasn’t hurt.

“He’s a big strong lad and we want to see a conclusive finish.

“And it was in round 11, there was only one more go. Let’s see the finish. I think it should have gone on.”