By Ian S Palmer
Former WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker of New Zealand steps back into the ring this Saturday, July 28th when he takes on Dillian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte of Jamaica at the O2 Arena in London, England. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the UK on Sky Sports Box Office. Both men have lost just once as a pro with both of them being defeated by current WBO, IBF and WBA Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua. Parker lost his belt to Joshua via a unanimous decision in his last fight in March while Whyte was stopped in the seventh round back in 2015. Whyte’s last outing was a brutal sixth-round stoppage over Lucas Browne.
The 30-year-old Whyte fights out of England and is a former kickboxer as well as British and WBC International Heavyweight Champion and WBC Silver Heavyweight Champion. He enters the ring at 23-1 with 17 Kos. He’s got quite a bit of power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 71 per cent. Whyte stands 6-feet-4-four inches tall and has a 78-inch reach. He’s boxed 110 rounds since turning pro in 2011. His biggest wins have been over Browne, a 10-round unanimous decision over Robert Helenius, a third-round TKO over Brian Minto and a 12-round split decision over Dereck Chisora.
His lone loss came to Joshua by seventh-round stoppage in December, 2015 before Joshua won his belts. Whyte also fought Joshua as an amateur in 2009 and dropped him along the way to a decision win. Whyte, a former kickboxer and mixed-martial artist, has decent boxing skills, but usually relies on his power to carry him through. He’s got good size for a heavyweight and has a pretty solid chin despite his loss to Joshua. Whyte’s also beaten the likes of Ian Lewison, David Allen and Marcelo Luiz Nascimento.
The 26-year-old Parker won the WBO title in December, 2016 by beating Andy Ruiz Jr. by majority decision. He owns a fine record of 24-1 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, like Whyte, 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 four fights though as Joshua, Hughie Fury Razvan Cojanu and Andy Ruiz Ruiz all took him the distance. Still, his current knockout ratio stands at an impressive 72 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.
Parker’s faced some decent boxers so far such as Joshua, 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 135 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’s the same height as Whyte, but gives up two inches in reach. 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 several fights and he may need it to keep Whyte at bay. Both boxers are hungry here as Whyte wants another shot at Joshua and Parker isn’t happy about walking around without a title belt. Both men have good power, so this could come down to the best chin. Parker may be going for a stoppage in this fight since getting a decision in England will be tough due to some ridiculous scoring in the UK lately. No outcome should come as a surprise here, but I think Parker may be able to pull it off.
