Anthony Joshua (WBA, IBF, IBO) vs. Joseph Parker (WBO) - March 31st 2018

[nitro5912]

Didn't work when fury climbed in the ring with him

[wesshaw1985]

[mickey1975]

Rightfully so. You don't get Ring belts beating Charles Martin and Andy Ruiz.

[dirk2686]

Rightfully so. You don't get Ring belts beating Charles Martin and Andy Ruiz.

No, but Fury got a Ring belt by beating Abell, Chisora, Hammer and Wlad, and Joshua wouldn't get a Ring belt by beating Molina, Wlad, Takam and Parker.

I actually don't mind the title not being on the line due to Parker being involved; it seems clear that he's palpably not the third best heavyweight in the world.

[stujones]

Rightfully so. You don't get Ring belts beating Charles Martin and Andy Ruiz.

No, but Fury got a Ring belt by beating Abell, Chisora, Hammer and Wlad, and Joshua wouldn't get a Ring belt by beating Molina, Wlad, Takam and Parker.

I actually don't mind the title not being on the line due to Parker being involved; it seems clear that he's palpably not the third best heavyweight in the world.

But then if Ring rate him at #3, then he is by the organisation running this belt. I think it SHOULD be for the ring heavyweight belt, mainly because I had this decision to strip Fury happened prior to Klitchsko vs Joshua - then Klitchsko vs Joshua would be for the ring championship - and therefore, Joshua should now already by champion.

[dirk2686]

Oh yeah, having an unlicensed cokehead like Fury who hasn't fought in two and a quarter years as your champion rather devalues your title.

[mickey1975]

Rightfully so. You don't get Ring belts beating Charles Martin and Andy Ruiz.

No, but Fury got a Ring belt by beating Abell, Chisora, Hammer and Wlad, and Joshua wouldn't get a Ring belt by beating Molina, Wlad, Takam and Parker.

I actually don't mind the title not being on the line due to Parker being involved; it seems clear that he's palpably not the third best heavyweight in the world.

He got it by beating the reigning champion in his backyard. The only way to win it.

[leejonesjnr]

Rightfully so. You don't get Ring belts beating Charles Martin and Andy Ruiz.

No, but Fury got a Ring belt by beating Abell, Chisora, Hammer and Wlad, and Joshua wouldn't get a Ring belt by beating Molina, Wlad, Takam and Parker.

I actually don't mind the title not being on the line due to Parker being involved; it seems clear that he's palpably not the third best heavyweight in the world.

He got it by beating the reigning champion in his backyard. The only way to win it.

Apart from the reality that that is not the only way to win it obvs

[wesshaw1985]

[jamamb]

showtime shows better fights but there ratings tend to be lower than hbos i think. fewer americans have showtime.

[KiwiRider]

The fight is still 7 weeks away, and check out AJ


Any concerns he was becoming too heavy are getting dispelled this time around.

[tiny_acres]

The fight is still 7 weeks away, and check out AJ


Any concerns he was becoming too heavy are getting dispelled this time around.

He looks great. Chiseled to perfection.
But that does not mean he will not be heavy.
That is a lot of muscle

[Boxerbeetle]

The fight is still 7 weeks away, and check out AJ


Any concerns he was becoming too heavy are getting dispelled this time around.

I was just stuffing my face with a chocolate biscuit when I opened this thread to see that photo. Instantly felt guilty

[KiwiRider]

One thing Joshua and Wilder dont have, is a decent common opponent. Joshua and Parker have one, Carlos Takem.
Here is what Carlos said about the two fighters;

He gives Joshua the edge in strength, but feels Parker has much faster hands.
"Joseph Parker, the guy has speed, a lot of speed. I think his speed is faster than Joshua," said Takam to Sky Sports.
"Joshua is strong, but Parker's speed is faster than Joshua and we're going to see what is going to happen in the fight - speed or strength.
"For me, those two are the best. I have respect for Parker, I have respect for Joshua. For me, they are two good fighters, two good boxers, two good champions."

I don't know if speed is going to make any difference, Parker is too easy to hit, so power probably will.

[dirk2686]

I suppose there's a bit of personal pride there so you can guess the answer, but I wonder if Takam really believed, at any point after the fight began, that he could beat either?

[lillywhite14]

Didn’t Takam run Parker very close yet barely win a round against Joshua?

[KiwiRider]

I suppose there's a bit of personal pride there so you can guess the answer, but I wonder if Takam really believed, at any point after the fight began, that he could beat either?

He trained very hard for both fights, with Parker he went the distance in a very active fight (for the HW division) and gave it his all. For Joshua he had a full 3 month camp and again, was in super condition. The amount of punishment and blood loss on that night and he was still good going into the 9th.
He really let his hands go in patches against Parker, and against Joshua- he survived a lot longer than 18 other blokes did

[KiwiRider]

You can call Parker whatever you want, but you can't call him a ducker.
This from his coach/manager Kevin Barry.
(Courtesy of BS)
"It was Eddie Hearn who said in the media that we want Joseph Parker and we were deep into negotiations to fight Lucas Browne. We were a long way into them and then when Eddie said that they want to fight Joseph Parker - Joe immediately got his team together and said, 'hey if they want to fight me let's make the fight,' so it was Joe who drove the fight. He is the one who immediately said to make it happen.

[jamamb]

takam is right, parker has quicker hands than aj (thats about all that joe has at a high level imo). but its very wrong to just limit the fight to a battle of speed vs power. there are other things too and that what makes it a mismatch imo

aside from punching way harder, aj has height, way more reach, better technique, better defense, better high end experience, and even better inside fighting despite being taller. hell be busting up parker before stubby armed parker can get to him, and besides even if parker lands i doubt it does much. joe has shown 0 power at any decent level. how does he get ajs respect?

joe cant outbox aj. joe cant outpower aj. and given the strong second wind ajs shown i doubt he can outlast him either. even if parker does have better stamina id bet hed be far too busted up to make it count anyway.

[jamamb]

btw i think it was a bit of a score getting parker. some hype, a nice looking unbeaten record for the resume, and another belt. but in reality little risk. i think wilder would flatten joe too and that povetkin and ortiz would beat him. also think miller does him and guys like whyte have a good chance.

for me joe just looked sadly limited vs guys like ruiz and hughie who have really done nothing to prove there worth outside of parker. ppl rate them a bit but i have to ask if instead of thinking there good for troubling parker, maybe its just that parkers not that good.

imo he may well peak out at the takam performance, and even that i thought couldve been scored a draw.

[Like a Boss]

Parker reportedly doing a lot of roadwork. Plainly he needs to be fit enough to be capable of going the full 12 rounds and hope he can gas Joshua somewhere along the way.

[Taansend]

Hearn just tweeted that AJ currently weighing 244 pounds, down ten from Takam

[Grilling Machine]

stubby armed parker

Yeah, I think that's a huge factor. I'm 71-72" tall with the same reach, and Parker's reach is down as 76". But his arms are probably a similar length to mine because he's much wider. So I know exactly how hard it's gonna be for him to get close and stay there, and the fact that Joshua's taller makes it even worse, since punching up requires you to get closer still.

I fancied Haye to KO Fury when they were due to meet, but this was also on my mind for that fight; it's Fury's main strength, I believe. Although Haye does have a very good reach for his height. Against Valuev it was okay because he was punching vertically enough to coil almost into a jump, and when landing at that angle his shoulders were supported. It's the 45-degree angle that really takes your power away, where you can't get your whole body behind your shoulders to stop the loss of power behind them.

It might be an idea for Parker to bury his head on Joshua's chest and work to the body as much as he can. Dangerous, though, 'cause Joshua's canny enough to turn him for having slow feet. If Parker just had that bit more power, I'd be able to give him a small chance. As it is, I've visions of Tatum-Simpson. I know Skelton was on the way to his bus pass when he fought Joshua, but I think he and Parker have enough in common in terms of their style to easily imagine a similar outcome.

Parker's all right, though; I hope he does better than I expect.

[asdfjkl]

Didn't work when fury climbed in the ring with him

Also note that Wilder is most likely going to fight Charles Martin in reality and only abuses Ortiz his name to let Margaret or whatever her name is make another mistake that makes sure the Wilder Ortiz fight won't happen. Most people just don't seem to realise it. I so hope I get proven wrong this time, but sadly, my feelings around Wilder have never been wrong yet.

[nitro5912]

stubby armed parker

Yeah, I think that's a huge factor. I'm 71-72" tall with the same reach, and Parker's reach is down as 76". But his arms are probably a similar length to mine because he's much wider. So I know exactly how hard it's gonna be for him to get close and stay there, and the fact that Joshua's taller makes it even worse, since punching up requires you to get closer still.

I fancied Haye to KO Fury when they were due to meet, but this was also on my mind for that fight; it's Fury's main strength, I believe. Although Haye does have a very good reach for his height. Against Valuev it was okay because he was punching vertically enough to coil almost into a jump, and when landing at that angle his shoulders were supported. It's the 45-degree angle that really takes your power away, where you can't get your whole body behind your shoulders to stop the loss of power behind them.

It might be an idea for Parker to bury his head on Joshua's chest and work to the body as much as he can. Dangerous, though, 'cause Joshua's canny enough to turn him for having slow feet. If Parker just had that bit more power, I'd be able to give him a small chance. As it is, I've visions of Tatum-Simpson. I know Skelton was on the way to his bus pass when he fought Joshua, but I think he and Parker have enough in common in terms of their style to easily imagine a similar outcome.

Parker's all right, though; I hope he does better than I expect.

If he buries his head into joshuas chest he will need to hope that AJ doesn't find an uppercut like he did wlad and whyte.