Dillian Whyte is close to agreeing a deal to fight old rival Derek Chisora at Manchester's Co-Op Live Arena on December 13 but, Saturday night, the longtime heavyweight contender saw his protege Fabio Wardley summon a dramatic late stoppage of Joseph Parker.

After a brutal back-and-forth battle at London's O2 Arena, momentum swung definitively Wardley's way in the 11th round. Parker was hurt and under heavy fire when referee Howard Foster stepped in to stop the action.

The sensational win saw Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) add the New Zealander’s WBO interim title to his own WBA interim crown. The 30-year-old from Ipswich now looks set for an unlikely but thoroughly deserved shot at undisputed champion, Oleksandr Usyk.

"We saw something special tonight," a delighted Whyte (31-4, 21 KOs) told Steve Bunce on the BBC 5 Live Boxing Podcast minutes after the outcome.

"Fabio and Joseph, they're both incredible men but Fabio shows what kind of person he is because I had him losing by two, three rounds. He can dominate a fight with his jab but for some reason, likes to roll the dice.

"He's a gambler which is not so good because he's a young man. We want him to have a good career and a good life but he gets the job done, man. He's an amazing guy."

Whyte took Wardley under his wing back in 2018 after sparring the raw but athletically gifted former white collar fighter. Wardley learned his trade on Whyte’s undercards and saw first-hand how he navigated his way through the maze of boxing politics.

In July 2018, Whyte also went to war with Parker.

He dropped the former WBO titleholder twice but also had to drag himself up off the canvas after being floored in a dramatic final round. Whyte escaped with a close decision victory but the memory of just how hard he had to work to secure that win meant sitting down to watch Wardley's big night with a feeling of trepidation.

"When I saw him a few years ago, I knew there was something different about him and he proved it to himself and to the world," Whyte said of Wardley.

"I was worried because I fought Joseph myself. I know what it's like, he's got bigger and stronger and seems even faster now than he was when I fought him."

"He's a tough guy, very hard to stop. He's not going to get knocked out so yeah, I was worried and I thought Fab started quick and then slowed down and he comes back on it later but with Joseph, he's a guy you're going to be consistent with."