By Ian S Palmer
There should be another crowd of 80,000 fans at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales this Saturday, March 31st when Anthony Joshua of England puts his IBF, IBO and WBA (Super) Heavyweight Titles on the line against WBO Champion Joseph Parker of New Zealand . Joshua last fought at the stadium in his last bout in October when he stopped Carlos Takam in the 12th round. Parker’s last contest was in September when he beat Hughie Fury by majority decision in Manchester, England. Fans in the U.S. can catch the action between the two unbeaten heavyweight champs live on Showtime while those in the UK and Ireland can view it on Sky Box Office. It’s also on pay-per-view back in New Zealand.
The 28-year-old Joshua of Watford is a former Olympic gold medalist who won the IBF Title in just his16th pro bout when he stopped Charles Martin in the second round in April, 2016. He enters the fight with a perfect record of 20-0 with a 100 per cent knockout ratio with 20 stoppages. He ended his first 14 bouts and 16 of his first 18 fights within the first three rounds. However, he’s gone 11 and 10 rounds in his last two outings against Wladimir Klitschko and Takam respectively. Joshua won the British title against Dillian Whyte in December, 2015 after winning gold at the 2012 Olympics.
It’s definitely safe to say Joshua has excellent power, but his chin is still a major question mark. Klitschko had him down and apparently out in the sixth round, but Joshua got up from the canvas to come back and stop him to win the remainder of his title belts. Joshua turned pro back in 2013 and has 65 rounds under his belt since. He’s a good-sized heavyweight by today’s standards as he stands 6-feet-6-inches tall and has a reach of 82 inches. His most well-known opponents have been Klitschko, Takam, Martin, Eric Molina, Dominic Breazeale, Dillian Whyte, Kevin Johnson, Matt Skelton and Michael Sprott.
Joshua is arguably a bit too muscle bound, but seems to possess pretty good boxing skills even if he is a bit robotic. The champ has decent mobility and upper body movement as well as a stiff jab. Joshua may try to stay away from a slugfest for the first few rounds by trying to box Parker and use his size to advantage while he gauge’s the New Zealander’s power. He’ll try using his jab and nailing Parker with something solid whenever he sees an opening and will definitely go after the WBO Champion if he feels he has him hurt.
The 26-year-old Parker won the WBO title in December, 2016 by beating Andy Ruiz Jr. by majority decision. He owns a perfect mark of 24-0 along with 18 Kos. Parker’s well known for his power, but his speed should also be taken note of as he has pretty quick hands as well. His biggest problem is leaving himself open for counter shots. Parker doesn’t mind taking one or two punches to land one of his own and so far his chin has held out as it’s been tested quite often. But to be honest, Parker’s power has gotten him this far in his pro career not his boxing skills.
Parker’s power has been lacking a bit in his last two fights though as Fury, Razvan Kovaju and Ruiz all took him the distance. Still, his current knockout ratio stands at an impressive 75 per cent. Parker still needs to improve his stamina so he can fight the full three minutes of every round if he’s forced to. He won the WBO Oriental Heavyweight Championship by stopping American Brian Minto in seven rounds back in 2014 and also won several other regional heavyweight titles in his part of the world such as the WBO Oriental Title and the OPBF crown.
He’s faced some decent boxers so far such as Ruiz, Alexander Dimitrenko, Minto, Carlos Takam, Marcelo Luiz Nascimento, Kali Meehan, Bowie Tupou, Jason Pettaway, Frans Botha and Sherman Williams. He turned pro back in 2005 and has 123 rounds under his belt since then. He also has decent size for a modern-day heavyweight at 6-feet-4-inches in height with a 76-inch reach, meaning he gives up two inches in height and sixes inches in reach to Joshua. Parker’s not the most athletic of boxers though and generally has trouble against fleet-footed and mobile opponents.
Prediction…
Parker has been a bit of a disappointment lately as his power has gone missing in action over the past few fights and Joshua had his hands full with Takam a few months ago. Parker’s worst nightmare will be if Joshua attempts to move and outbox him over 12 rounds and doesn’t stand his ground at any time. Parker is hoping to eventually go toe-to-toe so he can test Joshua’s suspect chin, but he’s also going to need some solid whiskers of his own. Parker should be going for a stoppage in this fight since getting a decision in England will be tough. No outcome should come as a surprise here. I do think Joshua will eventually get stopped, but don’t believe Parker will be the one to do it this weekend.
