Parker has the power in his hands
It’s the tightest call in terms of Parker’s fights but it hard to go past the Kiwi for a variety of reasons. Parker has the physical edge to dictate terms if he’s good enough.
If he fights with intelligence and to his strengths, he wins.
Keep pounding out that noted jab and the foundation for victory is laid.
The height and reach advantages can’t be ignored. Ruiz even seems to have gone into David Tua mode to try to disguise his lack of height. While Tua teased his hair skyward for his world title shot against Lennox Lewis, Ruiz has turned up to virtually every media opportunity alongside Parker wearing a beanie with a pom-pom on top of it.
Auckland’s summer has arrived, it’s no weather for beanies, but a pom-pom almost gets his height up to Parker’s lofty range.
These are two powerful men but their power comes in different forms. Parker has more one-punch power. He knocks out opponents with a single blow. Ruiz is more like an axeman who topples timber with three, four or five chops. Parker’s knockout percentage of 87 per cent compared to Ruiz’s 66 per cent is significant.
Ruiz’s aggression and come-forward approach is something Parker enjoys from his opponents – let them walk into a ‘‘big one’’.
Much has been made of Ruiz having more experience – three more years as a pro, eight more fights, 29 more rounds.
But it’s not just how often you fight, it’s who you fight. Parker has the better class of victims on his 21-unbeaten run compared to Ruiz’s winning streak of 29. Importantly, Parker has really stepped up his opponents this year while Ruiz’s three opponents in 2016 have been internationally accepted as ‘‘dilapidated’’.
Parker has quietly been on a strength and conditioning programme over the back half of the year that has produced increased power and confidence. Ruiz has been on a crash course to reduce weight. There’s an obvious risk in taking him away from the dimensions he was comfortable and successful with.
Home advantage can’t be ignored – even Ruiz himself reckons he starts two points behind just by fighting in Auckland. If these fighters are as even on paper as some are saying, the surge from a vocal 10,000 crowd should be significant. Parker’s handlers Duco Events fought hard to get this comfort zone for their fighter, well aware of this significance.
Now it’s time for Parker to deliver his side of the bargain.
Yes, this is a division where one punch can make all the difference. But the international bookies are unanimous in their verdict – Parker wins.
I spent a week in Las Vegas recently speaking to far wiser boxing minds than mine about this fight, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the fighters. They, too, were confident Parker would be the man wearing the WBO belt at the end of the night.