Parker’s promoters were thrilled with Duco Event’s Dean Lonergan already planning for the future, “Joseph Parker has just beaten one of the tougher guys in the heavyweight division and by far and away one of the most durable”, Lonergan said.
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He beat Carlos Takam on points but Joseph Parker hardly sent shockwaves through the boxing world.
Parker needed a strong finish after Takam held sway through the middle stages.
Dillian Whyte, right, was stopped by heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in December and says Joseph Parker’s power is “over-rated”.
Parker stayed composed as he took the best of Takam and in the later rounds when the Frenchman appeared to tire, Parker did a much better job of finding Takam.
In fact the veteran, who had been in with the likes of Mike Perez, Tony Thompson and Alexander Povetkin, was able to force his way back in around six and seven on the front foot, with Parker seemingly struggling to keep his own pace going. At age 24 he has plenty of time to continue improving and will certainly feature in some very large fights to come.
“The style of Carlos Takam, his physicalness, his aggressive fighting, his stamina, the way he comes forward – all those things will test Joe like he has never been tested before and it will bring the very best out of him”. Parker fought a smart fight, not over extending himself, and when he did become exhausted he was wise beyond his years and made sure to give himself a chance to recuperate before pressing the action again. He wasn’t throwing a lot of shots.
Parker’s victory hardly sent shockwaves around the boxing world. Parker tried to blast out Takam with a flurry at the mid-point, but Takam answered well before the round was through. There should be no shame in this loss for Takam he gave a great fight, and proved he is a tough competitor that can hang in there with anyone.
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“I thought it was a 50-50 coming in and I thought it was 50-50 at the end”, Barry said. Glad that this episode was about a good, old fashioned, hard fought, heavyweight contest and not a failed drug test or pathetic mismatch for a change.
