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Ringside Report Looks Closer At Former WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker

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By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

If this active boxer never gets in the ring again to fight, he certainly has a career in comedy films as his lockdown projects with his family have proven. Whilst many other boxers have fallen over themselves to give interviews and reminisce of past glories, Joseph Parker, 27-2, 21 KO’s, the New Zealand former WBO heavyweight champion has devoted his time to filming remakes of film classics from Back to the Future to that scene in Love Actually Hugh Grant nailed. With the help of filmmaker, Kerry Russell, these films, especially the Grease remake has gone viral and brought Parker to a whole new audience.

At only 28 years old and having already won a version of the world title, Parker has seen a lot and been a lot. Reckoned by many when he was the WBO world champion to be the weakest of them all, he was once lampooned on a UK chat show by host Graham Norton as the pie eating champion to the man who was next facing him, Anthony Joshua. Parker discovered this and revealed his favorite pies on social media, in response; Parker has a very attractive sense of himself.

As an amateur he has a very distinguished record fighting at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 though he just missed qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games in London – that would have been interesting to see him on the same Olympics platform as Anthony Joshua. He fought over 60 fights as an amateur, winning national titles and some international events. At one stage he was in the final of a major competition against a fellow countryman and lost – it is a loss that is being used to tout a rivalry akin to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte – Junior Fa. He also took on Filip Hrgovic losing in the semi finals of the AIBA Youth World Championships to him in 2010. He also lost in the final of the Youth Olympics in the same year to Tony Yoka. Clearly there are quite a few professionals he could share a ring with to avenge such defeats.

In 2012 he turned professional with a 2nd round stoppage win against Dean Garmonsway at the Sky City Convention Center in Auckland. Within 4 years he stood across the ring from Andy Ruiz for the vacant WBO title. On that night, Parker did what Anthony Joshua failed to do in one go – he beat Ruiz. With that win he was crowned the WBO world champion, but his reign was not one filled with marque fights and legacy wins, however the road to it was.

In 2013 he came to our attention after knocking out four time world titlist, Francois Botha, in the second round; it was a heavy handed statement.

In 2014 he was in against the defending WBO Oriental champion, Brian Minto and Minto’s corner threw in the towel after the seventh round. This was more than a statement this was shouting his pedigree as Parker was gaining momentum and getting attention. There followed some useful sparring in camp for Wladimir Klitschko and a flurry of fights that proved his mettle and his ability as plenty came but none could conquer.

By the end of 2015, Parker had an array of belts – WBO Oriental, OBPF, WBA Oceana, PABA, WBO Africa and New Zealand’s heavyweight crown – kudos within the sanctioning bodies and those in the know, knew he was a serious contender. It was the IBF who were first to make a move and Parker was scheduled in May 2016 to take on Carlos Takam in an eliminator for the IBF belt held by now by Anthony Joshua. Parker, known by now for his high work rate, speed and agility outworked Takam and won on points though the margins were close enough to suggest it was a serious test of the New Zealander.

Parker then put his mandatory status on the line against Solomon Haumono, but he got through it with a fourth round knockout. The fight had been a big noise down under with the Australasian market always showing some appetite for any Australian/New Zealander match up – it is a rivalry that equals any in the world, cricket and rugby union holding the major share of this resentment. On this occasion, Parker won for the New Zealanders.

Before his title fight with Ruiz, there was one more hurdle, Alexander Dimitrenko. Given his status with the IBF, this was seen by Parker’s camp as the ideal preparation for the Joshua fight. This was meant to really test Parker as the only two losses suffered by Dimitrenko were against Kubrat Pulev and Eddie Chambers – this was a serious guy. In Manukau City, Parker beat him in three rounds.

Whilst Joshua had gained the IBF belt as it was stripped from the waist of Tyson Fury, won by Charles Martin and then taken by Joshua, the WBO belt that had subsequently been vacated by Fury who was now battling his demons, was up for grabs. The WBO stepped in and sanctioned Parker /Ruiz for the title. Parker had been installed by this time as the WBO mandatory number one contender, so the negotiations were quite simple though the road towards them, not. WBO number two was Klitschko but he was targeting the WBA belt and subsequently fought Joshua for that belt in Wembley; number three was Ruiz.

This proved to be a tough fight with Ruiz proving to be the better of the two in the opening exchanges. It took until the middle section of the fight before Parker took control and he ended the fight the stronger of the two. Judging being all about the eye of the beholder was apposite as Parker won by a majority decision as one judge had it a draw whilst the other two went 115-113 for Parker.

Parker was the first New Zealand world heavyweight champion, and he managed that feat in Auckland, New Zealand’s capital city. He is also a Samoan and proud of his heritage, so he was also the first Samoan world champion.

Ruiz was not so happy for him. He wanted a rematch and initially Parker was up for that, but his canny management were no fools – there would be no rematch.

If anything, Parker’s reign continued to suffer from the politics of the sport as his first defense, supposed to be against Englishman, Hughie Fury tiptoed round the world with VISA issues, reluctance to travel and injuries scuppering things before it was called off. A fight with a top 15 contender was needed and step forward Razyan Cojanu. Parker posted a very unconvincing win on points that did little to enhance his reputation, after all Dominic Breazeale and Deontay Wilder had called for fights with him but they were overlooked. What made it worse was that Cojanu had previously been his sparring partner, so the press and the sport, had a field day.

Hughie Fury was still his mandatory, so he got his chance in Manchester in 2017 in a fight many believed, like me, that he won against Parker. One judge had it a draw which was fair, the other two had it by 8 points in favor of Parker which was nonsense. In the lead up to the fight there had been much bad blood about the appointment of the referee from the Parker camp and it seems to have worked as the belt was retained in a robbery. If Parker had been seen as the least impressive world champion before, this cemented that reputation and people began to see opportunities to take one of the four major belts from Parker including Tony Bellew.

There followed talk of another Australasian tussle between Parker and Lucas Browne the former WBA title holder who had a Chechen nightmare after posting a positive drugs test and tarnishing his win after taking the title in that country in a career best performance. It had been suggested before and since that these two face off in a ring.

Instead of the Browne fight, the WBO title went into the ring alongside the IBF, IBO and WBA belts held by Anthony Joshua as the two clashed in 2018 in Cardiff. Joshua was taken the distance by the Kiwi, but Joshua ultimately won on points. It was however the first time that Joshua had been taken 12 rounds. It was also Parker’s first official loss.

His second loss was but a few months away and it was in his third fight in the UK; against Dillian Whyte. Parker lost that fight on points in a battle that saw Parker hit the canvass for the first time in his career. He managed to drop Whyte in the 12th round but it was too late. Parker was never out the fight and battled deep and hard. It was a win for Whyte but had Parker turned it on in the 11th, rather than the 12th, Whyte might have lost the fight, by being stopped. Certainly, Whyte adopted some rough tactics in the middle ground and had he been penalized for some of it, Parker could also have won; Whyte was very lucky; hence Parker’s keenness to get back in and take Whyte on again.

Since then Parker has fought a further three times – all significant win. He knocked out Alexander Flores in the 3rd round., then Alex Leapai in the 10th and then Shawndell Winters in the 5th in the last day of February 2020; it looks like he is getting back to his best.

Then came lockdown and the boredom clearly set in. Parker has therefore spent his time making them videos and cementing his legacy as an entertaining addition to the boxing fraternity but for all of us his best performances should be left for inside the square circle.

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