By Ian S Palmer
Former WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker of New Zealand steps back into the ring this Saturday, December 18th when he faces Dereck Chisora of Zimbabwe in a rematch of their May 1st bout. This fight once again takes place at the Manchester Arena in England where Parker won a 12-round split decision earlier this year for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title. Fans in North America, the UK and many other nations can catch the action live on DAZN.
The 29-year-old Parker won the 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’s still relatively young for an experienced heavyweight and has a fine record of 29-2 with 21 Kos.
Parker owns above average power with a current knockout ratio of 67.7 per cent but has gone the distance in seven of his last 10 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. Parker’s well known for his power but his speed should also be taken note of as he has pretty quick hands as well.
Parker’s biggest problem 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 more or less held out and certainly passed the test as it’s been tested quite often. But to be honest, Parker’s power has gotten him this far in his pro career rather than his boxing skills.
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. 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 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.
The former champ has also beaten the likes of some pretty good opponents in 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 189 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.
Parker’s not the most athletic and mobile of boxers in the ring though and generally has trouble against fleet-footed and mobile opponents, but Chisora isn’t one of those. He also needs to instill a killer instinct. Parker waited far too long to go after 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.
The 37-year-old Chisora fights out of England and climbs into the ring with a mark of 42-11 with 23 Kos. He lost twice to Dillian Whyte as he was stopped in the 11th round of a slugfest in December, 2018 and dropped a 12-round split decision to him two years earlier. He’s also lost twice to Tyson Fury as he was halted after 10 rounds in 2014 and dropped a 12-round unanimous decision in 2011.
His other five losses came via a fifth-round TKO to David Haye in 2012, a unanimous decision to world champ Vitali Klitschko five months earlier and a 12-round split decision to Robert Helenius three months before that for three straight defeats. Chisora was also beaten by Kubrat Pulev by a 12-round split decision in May, 2017 and by Agit Kabayel via a majority decision in November, 2017.
Chisora stands just over 6-feet-1-inch tall and has a 74-inch wingspan which sees him give up three inches in height and two inches in reach to Parker. Chisora may be more skilled than people give him credit for as he can throw decent combinations when he’s in a rhythm but often leaves himself exposed to counter shots. He’s defeated the likes of Artur Szpilka, Carlos Takam, Malik Scott and Kevin Johnson.
As a pro he’s captured the WBA International and WBO International, WBA Inter-Continental and British Heavyweight Titles. Chisora has plenty of experience against top-notch opposition but has usually fallen short when stepping up in class with the exception being against Takam. He’s boxed 280 rounds since turning pro in 2007 and owns a 53.5 per cent knockout ratio. When he’s motivated he can be pretty exciting by giving and taking all night long and can be a handful for anybody on the world stage but he sometimes runs out of steam as the fight goes on.
Prediction…
Both of Parker’s losses came in the UK so it may not be his favourite place to fight and his win over Chisora in May was razor thin. Chisora can be quite aggressive and isn’t afraid to let his hands go which is basically the opposite of Parker, who doesn’t throw enough leather. Chisora’s been down a few times in his career but can still take a pretty good punch and has plenty of experience. When he’s at his best, Chisora’s very difficult to beat but when he’s not at the top of his game he’s just an average heavyweight. Parker has all the tools required to be an elite heavyweight but he simply doesn’t use them nearly enough. This should be another close fight and I think once again Parker will probably do just enough to pull it out.
