The Barista, 30, is set to step in the ring with Lupesoliai La’auliolemalietoa, 33, on October 25 at The O2 Arena in London, and with the winner of the bout set to become the mandatory challenger for Usyk’s WBO championship, Wardley is determined to beat Parker so he can face Usyk.
Speaking with Sky Sports, he said of his possible fight with The Cat: “That's a huge motivator. I'm trying to not get too distracted by that.
“Obviously that is the dream, that is everything - to fight for a world title. So we've got to tick off October 25 first and get that out the way. But then it's seriously on to the big leagues.”
Even so, Wardley is right to keep his focus on Parker, who has recently claimed victims like Deontay Wilder, 39, Zhilei Zhang, 42, and Martin Bakole, 32.
Wardley continued: “It's the biggest test so far and Joseph Parker's a great opponent. Whether or not it's the right time, it's an irrelevant question. The opportunity's in front of me.
“I asked for it. I asked Frank [Warren, his promoter] to make the big fights, to make the big ones happen.
“He's pulled out probably the second biggest fight there is out there for me and delivered. It's my turn to turn up on the night and do what I do best.”
Wardley then praised his opponent for choosing not to simply “sit there and wait” for Usyk.
He said of Parker: “Credit to him for not wanting to just sit there and wait [for Usyk] and wanting to grab his opportunity and go and get it. He might be a little bit miffed that he's having to try and get through another war just to fight his way to another title shot.”
Reflecting on other future fights, Wardley expressed interest in fight Moses Itauma, 20, though insisted they were “both on [their] own courses” at the moment.
He said: “We both need to grab our world titles first, before we're able to have some conversations maybe about crossing swords ourselves.
“But there's enough out there right now for the pair of us to have a go at and just occupy ourselves with before we need to start having a serious think about us maybe getting in the ring at the same time.”
