Fabio Wardley pulled off a huge upset to wreck Joseph Parker's dreams of earning a two-time world heavyweight champion on Saturday and put himself in line for a opportunity at perfect champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The English fighter is now the top contender for the Ukrainian after he secured a stunning comeback victory by halting the veteran New Zealander in the eleventh round of an thrilling and physical battle at London's O2 Arena.
Wardley, 30, secured the WBO 'interim' title when he pressured referee Howard Foster to halt the bout as he overwhelmed previous world champion Parker, who had been hurt badly in the 10th by a straight uppercut.
The Ipswich native got the crowd to their feet and collapsed to the floor in jubilation as his support crew flooded into the ring to mark the victory.
They were magnificent scenes as the ex white-collar boxer maintained his outstanding rise in the pro circuit.
There was an debate that the stoppage was premature, especially given Parker had commanded for large parts of the fight and damaged Wardley multiple occasions with straight rights.
But the 33-year-old New Zealander provided little argument when Foster intervened and his trainer Andy Lee did not look to remonstrate as his man endured his fourth pro defeat.
"I declared all the way through this lead-up that we selected Joseph Parker because I think I'm at the top and I demonstrated I'm at the top," said Wardley.
"All praise to Joseph, he can't get enough respect and he deserves all the esteem from the boxing world. He took a chance when he didn't have to, and we realized he wasn't going anywhere quickly. We had to choose our spots and ultimately we got them out of there."
It was a straight uppercut from Wardley in the 10th round which shifted the bout decisively back in support of the longshot.
This was Wardley's 20th career win and his most important. Usyk now potentially awaits early next year.
Parker risked his ranking as the top contender for Usyk's crown by undertaking this fight, dropping to his fourth professional defeat.
Wardley's promoter Frank Warren informed DAZN: "Usyk said he wants to do it, so that's what it will be. It's a thirty-six minute fight and it only takes one second from him."
It was a top names of the British heavyweight category in the arena with Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois, Moses Itauma, Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte among the observers.
Usyk was not here, but he was the man this bout was all for.
Wardley proceeded to the ring adorned in Ipswich Town colors with the football club's badge featured on his kit.
He spoke in the lead-up how it was amazing that when Parker was winning the WBO heavyweight title in 2016, he was only participating in white-collar boxing.
Yet here he was on the identical platform as the seasoned Kiwi in a fight to decide the next challenger for Usyk, the best heavyweight of this generation.
With Lee in his corner, Parker was on a red-hot run coming into this bout of six wins including victories over the likes of Zhilei Zhang, Deontay Wilder and Martin Bakole.
As chants of 'Oh Fabio Wardley' rang around the arena, Parker secured control with a ramrod of a jab that soon caused blood from the bridge of the Ipswich fighter's nose.
The finish to the first three minutes was forceful from the favorite as Parker powered through with a powerful of a right hand.
Parker's control vanished when a right hand from Wardley shook him in the second.
It would be a precursor to what would follow later in the fight. It was a excellent shot and got those ringside to their feet as the New Zealander looked unstable on his.
The expertise of Parker, in his 40th professional fight, looked like it was going to be vital here. Wardley was always risky, but Parker was connecting the better shots through the central rounds.
The Kiwi's left uppercuts to the body and right hands over the top were a particular highlight, but Wardley's own backhand remained a danger.
The fight looked to be losing steam in the eighth before it exploded back into life and turned firmly back in Wardley's favor in the 10th.
He guaranteed his amazing story would get another chapter against Usyk when he swarmed Parker in the 11th with a flurry of shots which compelled Foster to step in.
It may have been early but Wardley will argue that Parker was taking considerable punishment.
Usyk requested a medical exception to delay his mandatory defence of the WBO title because of a back injury, but his consultant Serge Lapin recently affirmed that the perfect champion was set to face the winner of this bout.
Warren will now look to organize that fight next year for his man.
With just twenty-one career fights on the back of no amateur background having arrived from the white-collar scene, Wardley is still inexperienced and his rise to this level has been considerably sped up.
But now he is in a place to face the best heavyweight of this era which is a cinematic tale.
Parker will now have to carefully evaluate his next step, given his age and how long he has been participating at the elite level.
He took a massive risk here and his prospects of winning back a portion of the world heavyweight crown have been diminished.
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