From shy guy to superstar
THE RISE OF JOSEPH PARKER
Joseph Parker’s WBO title fight in Auckland is justification of his handlers’ controversial development of the young heavyweight.
Parker takes on Andy Ruiz in a title match that has come around quicker than many expected.
The fact that is at home is equally unexpected.
But both of these circumstances have been on the radar of trainer Kevin Barry and promoters Duco Events since they teamed up to polish and maximise the raw skills of Parker in 2013.
Barry is adamant home advantage against Ruiz will be ‘‘huge’’ when the 24-year-old takes to the ring in front of 10,000 fans at Vector Arena.
It’s the culmination of a calculated plan to make Parker an accessible hero. They have ignored the bright lights of overseas destinations to campaign Parker throughout New Zealand over three and a half years as he has fashioned a 21-0 record with 18 KOS.
The public have got to know him and warmed to him and Parker himself has grown increasingly comfortable in and out of the ring.
‘‘One of the most satisfying things about this whole deal is having this fight at home,’’ Barry said.
‘‘Dean [Lonergan, Duco Event’s co-owner] has been trying to break into Las Vegas for a while and all the time I have been saying, ‘we can take Joe all the way from New Zealand if we do this properly, we can keep the home town advantage, we can keep him in an area where he feels comfortable, where we know it works, and we can take him all the way to the title from New Zealand’.
‘‘After the first couple of years I think Dean got that. He realised we didn’t need to come over to Vegas, align ourselves with another promoter. People were thinking, ‘hey, you guys are kidding yourselves, it can’t be done’. They have been saying right from the beginning: when are you going to go to the States, when are you going to start fighting in the States where it’s all happening? If you are ever going to get him to the top it has to be in America.
‘‘We have known what the plan was. The plan was to give Joseph different styles but to keep as much comfort as we possibly could. In a word, that’s what it is, comfort – being comfortable at home. Our success has been because of that.’’
Barry said getting the IBF eliminator against Carlos Takam in May was proof of their plan. But this is was now another level, taking on Ruiz for a genuine world title in Auckland, hardly a glamour destination in global boxing terms.
Win, lose or draw against Ruiz, bigger things beckon for Parker now and so does the United States after Duco this week signed a deal with leading promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank to have the Kiwi fight there in the future.
It was a sign of the times, an acknowledgement that now it is time to shift focus, especially if he wears that belt out of the ring tomorrow night.
But his apprenticeship has been served on home shores and, all things going well, his graduation will come against Ruiz.
It’s been a long path for Parker and Barry but one they have travelled with remarkable speed and ease. ‘‘The last four years have felt like they’ve gone quickly. In fact, the last four years have literally been a blur,’’ Barry said.
‘‘When I think back to going down to New Zealand in April 2013, I don’t know where the time has gone since then. One of the main reasons why it’s gone like that is we’ve had this young man on such a busy schedule. We’ve said it a number of times, the only other fighter who has come close to this heavyweight schedule is Anthony Joshua.’’
He has delighted in shaping a raw product into a contender. It was a challenge at first, though Barry says he had an eager student.
‘‘I had to throw more stuff at him than I would any other fighter. I was more or less bombarding him with ‘boxing 101 ... this is how it is, this is how you have to think, this is how you have to train, when these guys say this, what they really mean is this. Never, ever be offended by anything you hear. Never pay attention to what I’m talking about to the media or what I’m saying about you or the guy you’re fighting’.
‘‘He was probably fragile until the second year of working together because I didn’t believe he believed he was actually good enough to be a top-10 real fighter.
‘‘He was finding skills that he never thought he could do because no one had ever taught him.’’
Barry flicked a switch in Parker.
‘‘All of a sudden he was putting punches together and he could see himself improving. It was probably towards the end of 2014 that I thought, ‘OK, now he gets it.
‘‘He’s seen the journey, the progress, and now he’s starting to believe, I can do this, I can be a real guy’.
‘‘That’s what’s made this work. He is a good learner. It’s given me such satisfaction watching this young man mature and develop this last four years.
‘‘When I think back to this shy, reserved, a little unsure of himself guy ... his body was soft, he didn’t really know where he was going. He thought he would try boxing but always had his building apprenticeship to go back to.
‘‘Not only has he matured as a fighter and become a top international boxer, but as a person he has grown tenfold. His confidence, his demeanour, the way he carries himself now, he has turned into the sporting star we’ve been trying to create. Throughout the whole thing, being under intensive viewing and scrutiny by the media and public, he’s stayed true to himself.
‘‘I said to him [in 2014], in two years’ time, you will be the boss of yourself. Then he was always, ‘yes, yes coach, yes Kevin’. I said ‘Joe, we will all be working for you. It’s going to start in two years time’.
‘‘Now he realises he has to be accountable to himself and he is taking charge of himself. He’s become his own person. Dean and David [Higgins, Duco co-owner] have done an absolutely fantastic job of the promotion. Behind him, [matchmaker] Stu Duncan has done a good job with me in taking the right opponents. Our media network is probably, per head of population, second to none.
‘‘Everyone’s done their part. But for the first two years he never had a voice, he never knew how to say no. Then I watched as he said, ‘no, I don’t think I want to do that’. That’s been a pleasure, watching him grow as a person.’’