By Ian S Palmer
The WBO Interim World Heavyweight Title is on the line in Manchester, England this Saturday, September 24th as unbeaten Joe Joyce of London takes on Joseph Parker of New Zealand. The 12-rounder can be seen live in the UK on BT Sport Box Office while those in America can catch the action on ESPN+. Parker last fought in July when he defended his WBC Silver and WBO International Heavyweight Titles by stopping Christian Hammer in four rounds. Parker last boxed in December when he dropped Dereck Chisora in the seventh and eighth rounds on the way to a unanimous 12-round decision in their rematch to retain the WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Belt. Parker also won the first fight, seven months earlier, after getting up from the canvas in the first round to take a 12-round split decision.
The 37-year-old Joyce didn’t turn pro until late in 2017 after a fine amateur career which saw him win gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 European Games. He also took home a silver from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the super-heavyweight division when he lost the gold-medal match to Tony Yoka of France.
Joyce owns a perfect record of 14-0 with 13 wins coming by way of knockout. He stands 6-feet-6-inches tall with an 80-inch reach and it’s obvious he has some power in his fists with a highly-impressive 93 per cent knockout record. His opponents so far have been Christian Hammer, Carlos Takam, Daniel Dubois, Michael Wallisch, Bryant Jennings, Alexander Ustinov, former WBC World Champion Bermane Stiverne, Ian Lewison, Rudolf Jozic, Donnie Palmer, Lenroy Thomas, Ivica Bacurin, Iago Kiladze and Joe Hanks.
It’s not exactly an elite list but each one of his opponents had a winning record and there are some solid pros in it. Joyce his current WBC and WBO minor belts as well as the British, European and Commonwealth Titles when he halted young prospect Daniel Dubois in the 10th round in 2020. He also won the vacant WBA Continental Heavyweight Belt when he beat Hanks in 2018.
Joyce’s boxing skills haven’t had a chance to be showcased very often though as he has four first-round Ko’s as well as one in the second and two in the third and has boxed just 63 rounds since turning pro. The only man to go the distance with him so far has been Bryant, who lasted 12 rounds in July, 2019 but dropped a unanimous decision.
The 30-year-old Parker enters the bout with a mark of 30-2 with 21 KO’s. He won the regular WBO title in December, 2016 by beating Andy Ruiz Jr. by majority decision. He then lost it via unanimous decision to Anthony Joshua in March, 2018 with his other loss being a somewhat controversial 12-round unanimous decision to Dillian Whyte in August, 2018 for the vacant WBO International and the WBC Silver Heavyweight Titles.
Parker owns above average power with a current knockout ratio of 65.6 per cent but has gone the distance in eight of his last 11 fights. However, he stopped three opponents in a row after going the distance against the previous five before Junior Fa took him the full 12 rounds in February 2021. Parker’s well known for his power but his speed should also be taken note of as he has pretty quick hands as well.
The biggest problem Parker seems to have is leaving himself open for counter shots. He doesn’t mind taking one or two punches to land one of his own though and so far his chin has held out after being tested quite often. Earlier in his career, Parker’s power was his strong point but he’s had to depend on his boxing skills more often in the past few years.
He went the distance five times in a row from 2016 to 2018 against Whyte, Joshua, Hughie Fury, Razvan Cojanu and Ruiz before stopping Alexander Flores, Alex Leapai and Shawndell Winters. But he 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 Brian Minto in seven rounds in 2014 and has won several other regional heavyweight titles in his part of the world.
These include the WBO Oriental Title and the OPBF crown. Parker has also beaten the likes of Alexander Dimitrenko, Carlos Takam, Marcelo Luiz Nascimento, Kali Meehan, Bowie Tupou, Jason Pettaway, Frans Botha and Sherman Williams. He turned pro in 2005 after an excellent amateur career and has 201 rounds under his belt since. He also has decent size for a modern-day heavyweight at 6-feet-4-inches with a 76-inch reach but he gives up two inches in height and four inches in reach to Joyce.
Parker’s not the most athletic and mobile boxer in the ring though and generally has trouble against fleet-footed and mobile opponents. He also needs to instill a killer instinct. Parker waited far too long to go after Dillian Whyte and virtually had him out on his feet just as the bell rang to end the contest and paid the price for not letting his hands go earlier.
Prediction…
This is an excellent heavyweight matchup and a very close one. It’s probably safe to say Joyce has overachieved during his career since he’s a lot better than many people believed he was. At the same time, Parker may have underachieved so far. Joyce has the size advantage and his excellent jab will make it difficult for Parker to get inside. However, he still appears to slap some of his punches rather than getting full power behind them as he has a bit of an awkward style. Joyce may have the better overall boxing skills but it’s usually his power that ends fights. However, he’d really need to land on the button to stop Parker. This is a close win, lose or draw pick for each boxer as it could easily go either way with Joyce having the edge with home country judging. Also, both of Parker’s losses came on points in England. But if Parker is forced to fight and let his hands go, which he usually doesn’t do enough of, I’d give him a slight edge over the 37-year old Joyce.
