Boxing betting tips: Preview for Saturday's action on DAZN PPV featuring Joseph Parker versus Fabio Wardley

Boxing betting tips: Parker vs Wardley

1pt Joseph Parker to win in rounds 7-12 at 11/4 (Paddy Power, Sky Bet)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Rather than play the waiting game, Joseph Parker has opted to keep busy with a risky fight with Fabio Wardley at London's O2 Arena on Saturday, live on DAZN PPV.

Former heavyweight champion Parker (36-3) has rattled off an impressive six straight victories since his last defeat and now finds himself as the mandatory challenger with the WBO to undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. While the brilliant Ukrainian opts for an extended spell on the sidelines, Parker could easily have done the same as he waits for his deserved turn but that is not in his nature.

The New Zealander is a fighting man and wants to do just that – fight. So, he now faces the unbeaten Wardley, whose rise from the white-collar scene to championship contender has been one of the best boxing stories in recent times.

While there is little benefit for Parker other than financial gain, the odds compilers don't see this as too much of a risk for him as he is a best price of 3/10, although there has been some late money for Wardley and 10/3 is the best you can find about the underdog.

However, anyone carrying the power that Wardley (19-0-1) does is always dangerous. The Ipswich man has stopped 18 of his 19 victims, having followed his draw with Frazier Clarke with a stunning first-round knockout of that rival to claim the British and Commonwealth titles just over a year ago.

There is no better evidence of Wardley's power than his last fight, when he was comprehensively outboxed by Justis Huni for nine and half rounds. Well behind on the scorecards, Wardley landed with a perfect right hand to flatten Huni and leave the Australian unable to continue.

The fascinating journey of Wardley now goes on to an even higher level and his destructive qualities, along with his exciting style, have made him must-see television. He faces another Antipodean opponent this weekend but one who is better than Huni and in the form of his life.

Parker's turnaround in form since teaming up with coach Andy Lee and nutritionist George Lockhart has been sensational and his last three wins especially have put him right back the title mix. In a 13-month period up to February this year, the Kiwi recorded a unanimous decision victory over former champion Deontay Wilder, outpointed the heavy-handed Zhilei Zhang and stopped late replacement, but highly avoided, Martin Bakole in two rounds.

That is a hot run of form, and he represents a big step up in class for Wardley, although the latter will be buoyed by the often-leaky defence of Parker. The favourite has never been too hard to hit and has been dropped several times, including twice by Zhang, so Wardley will be confident of being able to detonate his bombs on Parker's chin at some point.

That said, Parker has always been quick to recover when hit clean and the Zhang performance was the perfect example of that, as he brushed the knockdowns aside to outbox the Chinese destroyer in style. In fact, only Joe Joyce, when at the peak of his powers in 2022, has been able to stop Parker, and that was in the 11th round and possibly more down to the gruelling nature of their classic battle than any weakness in the loser's chin.

All three of Parker's losses have come to big names at the top of their game, having also dropped decisions to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018. With that in mind, it would be a surprise if Wardley can continue his unbeaten streak now he steps up to genuine world level, and just getting to the higher echelons of the glamour division is a big achievement in itself for someone with no amateur experience.

Given he is in with a better boxer, Wardley's only chance appears to be to win by knockout. You can get 11/2 for that outcome and, with an ever-growing fanbase thanks to his exciting style, that could tempt a few into a patriotic punt.

However, Parker is a much more rounded fighter, and he is hard to oppose in his current form, with better skills and much more experience under his belt than Wardley. He will be aware of Wardley's power and that being the Englishman's route to victory, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Parker looking to box more early doors – just as he did against heavy hitters Wilder and Zhang.

Both of those fights ended in a decision victory for Parker and the same result here is 21/10, which is very tempting. My feeling is, though, that Parker will turn up the heat on Wardley as the rounds go on and will be looking to land some heavy artillery of his own once his opponent slows down a little.

Parker will have seen how Huni was too quick for Wardley for over nine rounds and will fancy his chances of inflicting similar damage himself, only this time he has the tools to finish the job. Parker by stoppage seems fair at evens, but I think is it more likely to come in the second half of the fight and the favourite to WIN IN ROUNDS 7-12 is 11/4.

Parker may be cautious early on but will have plenty of opportunities to do damage against the inferior skills of Wardley as the fight goes on and he can wear down his man for a stoppage victory after halfway.

Preview published at 1420 BST on 24/10/25

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Both of these like to go for the knockout and they carry power, but I expect Marshall to have too much on her return to boxing and the 4/1 about her getting a stoppage looks too big to me.