By Ian S Palmer
The interim WBO Super Middleweight Title is on the line this Saturday, November 26th as unbeaten Zach Parker takes on fellow Englishman John Ryder at the O2 Arena in London. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN + while fans in the UK can catch the action on BT Sport 1. Ryder last fought in February when he won a controversial 12-round split decision over former world champ Daniel Jacobs while Parker stopped Marcus Morrison in the fourth round last November to retain the WBO International Super Middleweight Title.
The 34-year-old Ryder will enter the ring with a record of 31-5 with 17 Kos. He lost a split decision to Rocky Fielding for the vacant British Super Middleweight Title in 2017 and dropped a unanimous decision to Jack Arnfield for the WBA International Middleweight Crown a year earlier. His only stoppage defeat came to Nick Blackwell in 2015 when he was halted in the seventh round for the vacant British Middleweight Belt.
His pro first loss was also for the British Middleweight Title and the Commonwealth Championship when he dropped a close unanimous decision to Billie Joe Saunders in 2013. Ryder’s last defeat then came at the hands of Callum Smith by way of a 12-round unanimous decision in November, 2019 in a fight many fans believed he won. That decision was for the WBA Super World Super Middleweight title and the WBC Diamond Super Middleweight Crown.
The southpaw Ryder did manage to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Middleweight Title in 2014 when he stopped Theophilus Tetteh in the fifth round. He also won the vacant WBA International Middleweight Belt in 2016 with a unanimous decision over Siarhei Khamitski in 2016. He then won the vacant IBF International Super Middleweight Title with a unanimous decision over Adam Etches in 2017. He’s also stopped Patrick Nielsen, Jamie Cox and Andrey Sirotkin.
Ryder enjoyed a fine amateur career and won a couple of regional titles. He’s just 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 72-inch reach and has boxed 229 rounds since making his pro debut in 2010. He possesses average power with a current knockout ratio of 47.2 per cent but has a lot of heart and energy in the ring. Ryder has been quite competitive in every fight when moving up in class but he just might not have the size to get over the hump and win a world title in the super middleweight division.
Parker carries around a perfect mark of 22-0 with 16 Ko’s and has fought 99 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015. He lost to Joshua Buatsi as an amateur in the quarter-finals at the 2014 English National Championships. Since turning pro he’s also captured the vacant British Super Middleweight Title. He hasn’t faced the same level of opposition as Ryder though as Parker’s biggest wins have come against Bradley Pryce, Luke Blackledge, Darryl Williams, Rohan Murdock and Vaughn Alexander.
At 6-feet-tall with a 74-inch reach, the 28-year-old Parker has a three-inch height advantage over Ryder with a two-inch edge in reach. He definitely has more power in his arsenal with a current knockout ratio of 72.7 per cent. Parker hasn’t really beaten or faced anybody on the world level as of yet and he’s arguably taking a step up in class this weekend in this highly-anticipated domestic showdown.
It’s probably safe to say that Ryder is no longer in his prime and he’s six years older than Parker. He shouldn’t be underestimated though as he’s as tough as they come, will give it his all and should have some good moments. However, he needs to deal with Parker’s size, skills and power and doesn’t really possess enough power himself to discourage Parker from taking chances. That being said, he managed to pull it off against Jacobs, albeit with the aid of some hometown judging. This should be a close fight with no result including a draw being deemed an upset. I’ll give Parker a slight edge here but not much more.
