The heavyweight division is back. No, there are no Mike Tyson’s but there is a Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, Dillian White, Tyson Fury, David Haye and Tony Bellew to carry the torch.
Enter the newest combatant to the world stage, Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs), who is as new to the popular culture audience as ever but is also the man of the hour as the next contestant in the Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) search for worthy opponents. If Parker can defeat Joshua this weekend before a sellout crowd of over 80,000 British fans, he has the opportunity of a lifetime to shred the heavyweight division hierarchy as we know it.
GLOVES ARE OFF: Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker
WATCH THE FIGHT ONLINE HERE: http://bit.ly/SkySportsBoxOffice SUBSCRIBE http://bit.ly/SSBoxingSub Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker meet face-to-face ahead of their World Heavyweight unification clash on the 31st of March at the Principality Stadium. TWITTER: https://twitter.com/skysportsboxing FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/skysportsboxing WEBSITE: http://www.skysports.com/boxing
It harkens back to Holly Holm before she fought “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. Highly anticipated but underrated, due to the star power of her combat dance partner, and slept on by “Rowdy”. The result was an epic fail on Rousey’s part as she overestimated her striking ability and was slumped miserably in the second round after catching the fade throughout the entire shocking ordeal in Australia.
Parker is currently the WBO heavyweight champion, having held the title since 2016. Previously, he held multiple regional heavyweight championships including the WBO Oriental, Africa, and Oceania titles; as well as the PABA, OPBF, and New Zealand titles. As an amateur, he represented New Zealand at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the super-heavyweight division, and narrowly missed qualification for the 2012 Olympics.
The 2012 Olympics were the stage Joshua used to cement his potential to the English fans when he brought home the gold medal in the super-heavyweight division before heading to the professional ranks to become an international star.
Joseph Parker | All Knockouts (23-0)
All KO of Joseph Parker
There are no celebrity bodies on Parker’s unblemished record. The only one with a bit of name recognition is Carlos Takam, who he defeated via unanimous decision in 2016 and that was trumped by Joshua who would TKO Takam in 10 rounds to retain his WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles last October. Parker also defeated Hughie Fury, cousin of British boxing’s bad boy Tyson Fury giving him his first loss.
However, Parker is two years younger than Joshua and as a relative unknown, he has everything to gain from a win or an impressive kick-ass performance. Joshua has a major multi-fight deal with Showtime and is the darling of Sky Sports in the U.K. The platform comes with immense pressure just as the crowd at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales will be fervently pro-Joshua. At this point, Joshua is literally printing British pounds with every billing and with the winner of this fighthaving every belt except the coveted green WBC belt that lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, courtesy of Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder, the stakes are higher than De La Soul’s rebirth album of the same name.
Joseph Parker | Highlights 2016 HD
https://youtu.be/V_t6wdLq9LA Joseph Parker Best Highlights And Knockouts Of His Career So Far 2015. Young New Zealand Heavyweight Joseph Parker Highlights / Knockouts 2015.
Still, Parker has already proven he can change the game and make history. After defeating Andy Ruiz for the WBO title, Parker became the first heavyweight boxer from either New Zealand or the Pacific Islands to win a major world championship. Parker trains in Las Vegas and has handled himself in the media and at press events very confidently. However, with Joshua’s bout against Wladimir Klitschko solidifying his greatness to many there is already a predisposed notion that Joshua has the fight cinched already.
But this is boxing and one punch can alter the upward trajectory of any combatants career. Parker knows this and through the pressure, his biggest test will be if he can take the power of Joshua in its full glory with all the world belts except one on the line.
When Holly Holm destroyed the image of Ronda Rousey with the head kick heard around the world at their UFC 193 pairing in Melbourne, Australia, it only took 59 seconds into the second round to change the course of women’s MMA. When Joseph Parker laces up the gloves this Saturday he has the chance to not only change the course of Anthony Joshua’s life but also the heavyweight chessboard worldwide.
