Tim Bradley says the referee made the right decision by halting the Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley fight in the 11th round after WBO interim heavyweight champion Parker (36-4, 24 KOs) had been hurt at the O2 Arena in London.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Mouthpiece Moment
Bradley points out that earlier in the fight, the referee Howard Foster had saved Parker by stopping the action in round two to allow him to have his corner wash off and reinsert his mouthpiece after he’d lost it while being snowed under with punches from Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs).
Wardley’s Missed Knockout Window
Parker was mortally hurt at the time, and with 40 seconds to go in the round. His condition and the way that Wardley was burying him with punches made it clear that he wouldn’t have survived if the referee, Foster, hadn’t stopped the action to allow him to have his mouthpiece placed back in.
Ten seconds elapsed during the time the timeout for the mouthpiece, which enabled Parker to recover in the final 30 seconds of the round. If not for that, the fight likely would have ended in round two with Wardley winning by a second-round knockout.
The Drowning Man Analogy
Using the drowning man analogy, Bradley states that the referee, Foster, couldn’t wait for Parker to stop struggling before stepping in to save him before going under. In close to two minutes of action in round 11, Parker had thrown just seven punches in total. Wardley had thrown 52 punches, landing 27.
Parker was not responding physically after being hurt in the 10th round and was in no condition to fight in the 11th round. The referee, Howard Foster, had spotted the lack of punches coming back from Parker.
Parker’s Seven-Punch Final Stand
Coming out for the 11th round, Joseph looked like he was walking on eggshells, like a doomed man heading to the guillotine. He didn’t have anything left at that point in the fight after the punishment he’d absorbed from Wardley late in round 10. That’s why it’s not surprising that Parker threw only seven punches at the time the fight was halted at 1:54 of round 11. He was too hurt to throw, and all he was doing was trying to dodge punches from Fabio.
Bradley’s Breakdown
“The referee saved Parker. That mouthpiece popped out of Parker’s mouth, fell on the floor, and the referee took his time, picked it up, and went to the corner. He gave it to the cornerman, he washed it off and put it back in his mouth,” said Tim Bradley on his channel, talking about how the referee Howard Foster saved Joseph Parker in round two when he gave him a timeout after he ‘accidentally’ lost his mouthpiece when he was getting drilled nonstop with punches from Fabio Wardley after being hurt.
“He [Wardley] lost his advantage at that point. He gave Parker [10] seconds to revive himself. Seconds to get life back into his body. The ref should have picked up that mouthpiece and put it back in his mouth immediately…You’re taking seconds off the clock. This man [Parker] was hurt,” said Bradley.
