Joseph Parker: Still Undefeated
(Drew Hallowell/Getty Images North America)
They billed it as an ‘American Invasion’. It wasn’t quite that. More like an underground American smuggling ring. But the task was achieved – Joseph Parker (and Robbie Berridge) got some US network telly airtime, spreading the good name of kiwi boxing to the land of hope and glory and easily accessible assault rifles.
They both fought on the undercard of the Derric Rossy-Vyacheslav Glazkov fight, which screened on NBC Sports. The main bout was a feisty affair between the veteran Rossy, trying to get himself back into the title fight action, and young Ukrainian gun Glazkov, the number 2 ranked IBF heavyweight. Glazkov (a 2008 Olympic bronze medallist) struggled early on and had issues with a prior hand injury, but came through to take the fight by a majority decision. Who cares about that though, right? For us, the main event came an hour and a half earlier…
Let’s talk about Joseph Parker because he’s the big story here. His preparation was all business and routine. He calmly took in the sights and sounds of Pennsylvania, he humbly laid a tribute at the gravestone of the legendary Smokin’ Joe Frazier and met with the legend that is Larry Holmes (who ended Muhammad Ali’s career – check out the brilliant ESPN doco ‘Muhammad and Larry’) and he went through the formalities without fuss or fanfare. It was clinical, just like the fight itself.
Parker’s opponent was American battler Keith Thompson. Definitely one he was expected to win. And from the outset the result seemed clear, Parker was aggressive, constantly on the front foot and looking to dictate the tempo of the fight without ever leaving himself open to those irritating counter punches. The reach he has meant that his superb left jab became a weapon in itself and there was very little that Thompson could do about it. Especially with the hand speed that Parker was showing off. The first couple of rounds went comfortably to Parker, before Thompson got sloppy in the third and Parker put him down like an ailing stray. He got back up, but he was dazed and punch drunk, and JP put him out of his misery. Once again, clinical.
This was a superb opportunity for Joseph Parker and you’ve got to say he took it. Heavyweight boxing is in for a changing of the guards in the coming years. After a drought in competition during the reign of the Klitschko Brothers, we’ve seen Vitali retire while Vladimir nears the end of his own career. It’s not out of the question that Parker could be in that conversation someday, though bear in mind that boxers don’t usually hit their peak till their mid-late 20s (unless you’re Mike Tyson or something) and Parker is still just 22. It’s too much pressure to say we expect this guy to fight for a world heavyweight title someday but that’s at least the goal. He’s expected to fight twice more this year, the second hopefully against a top-10 ranked opponent. We’ll leave all that to the folks whose job it is to say what’s best for Big Joe, but I for one am excited. They’re keeping him away from the usual DUCO Events rubbish, celebrity hit-and-giggles and all that, and getting him established on the US circuit where he needs to be if he’s gonna go places.
For as good as the Klitchkos were and still are (hint: brilliant), boxing is a hype sport and those two were hard to sell. No outspoken dramas (at least until Vitali retired and took up his new hobby of political activism), no flashy gun-slinging style and they refused to ever fight each other (out of respect for Mama Klitschko). OK, Parker doesn’t have the personality to sell tickets, which is exactly how we NZers like our athletes, but he has the technique. He’s a powerful fighter who’s willing to take the attack to his opponent. He throws punches hard and fast and he knocks buggers out. Given the ever-growing threat of UFC and MMA to the boxing world, that is exactly what they wanna see. Which can only be good news for Joseph Parker.
As for Robbie Berridge? He had the same chance. Only his build up was characterised by his outspoken nature. He reckons he refused to watch any tape on his opposite since as far as he’s concerned, whoever he fights it’s going only one way. Add to that he found himself staring at the other corner where a man almost 6 inches taller stood readying himself to pummel him, and Berridge was in for one tough day at the office. He just didn’t have the reach. Vasily Lepikhim is known as the Professor; Berridge as the Butcher. A thinker against a man who tends to leave the ring bloodied and bruised regardless of the result (and he’d only lost once before). To cut a long story short, Lepikhim knocked him down three times for a fourth round TKO. Berridge has a future in the ring but this was a step too far. He’ll go back to being a dominant guy in the NZ/AUS circuit and that’s where he will stay. It’s a shame to see a guy miss what may be his only chance. Ah well. So it goes.
Joseph Parker, though. 10-0, with 9 wins by knockout. He will fight Sherman Williams, of the Bahamas, in Auckland in October in what may just be another glorified training bout. Williams is 41, and has 35 wins to 13 losses, with a pair of draws and a no contest in his biggest fight, a 2011 meeting with Evander Holyfield (EH got cut accidentally in the second leading to the stoppage). Whatever, though. Parker’s got a big fight coming up in December by his own accounts, he may as well pad the record a little more first. Larry Holmes said that having been introduced to Parker, he had a big enough impression that the former champ youtubed the kiwi and was so impressed that he called him up at his hotel to tell him so. The champ reckons Parker has a great jab. Yeah, boy.
Joseph Parker and Larry Holmes