Joseph Parker hoped his impressive six-fight winning streak would lead to a shot at Oleksandr Usyk.

Rather than waiting on an opportunity to challenge the undisputed heavyweight champ, the WBO interim titleholder has embraced another difficult fight that could cost him a showdown with the unbeaten Ukrainian southpaw. DAZN and Queensberry Promotions announced Saturday that Parker will battle British knockout artist Fabio Wardley in a high-stakes DAZN Pay-Per-View main event Oct. 25 at O2 Arena in London.

Parker, 33, and Wardley, 30, will fight for Wardley’s WBA interim title, as well as Parker’s WBO belt.

New Zealand’s Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) has beaten former WBC champ Deontay Wilder, ex-WBO interim champ Zhilei Zhang and heavy-handed contender Martin Bakole in his past three fights. Those noteworthy wins re-established Parker as a top heavyweight after another Brit, Joe Joyce, knocked him out in the 11th round of their September 2022 bout at AO Arena in Manchester.

England’s Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KOs) produced a “Knockout of the Year” candidate in his last fight. He trailed Justis Huni on all three scorecards – 89-82, 89-82 and 88-83 – when he drilled the previously unbeaten Australian with a picturesque right hand that knocked Huni (12-1, 7 KOs) flat on his back and out in the 10th round June 7 at Portman Road, a soccer stadium in Wardley’s hometown of Ipswich.

Promoter Frank Warren, whose company represents Parker and Wardley, commended them for taking this type of risk when they could’ve sought easier fights while waiting for title shots.

“This will be a corker of a heavyweight clash and one which will shine a huge light on the division,” Warren said in a press release. “Fights like this one are as good as it get outside of the champion defending his belts and the sort we want to see happen.

“Neither Joe nor Fabio wanted to wait about and protect their positions, and credit to both of them for this. I believe this is a genuine even-money fight with a mesh of styles that I am sure will be eye-catching and highly crowd-pleasing.”

Tickets for the card headlined by Parker-Wardley can be purchased at axs.com starting Wednesday at noon BST.