Decision right but fight was boring
Lance Revill says Joseph Parker ‘‘bolted in’’ against Hughie Fury but has labelled the world heavyweight bout embarrassing.
Former Kiwi heavyweight Shane Cameron was far more complimentary of Parker’s performance, though, as the WBO champion’s latest victory divided opinion in his homeland.
Parker was awarded a unanimous points decision win over Fury in Manchester on Sunday morning [NZ time] to ensure he retained his crown.
In February the outspoken Revill, a well-known New Zealand boxing identity, blew up when Parker was awarded a points decision win over Andy Ruiz Jr to claim the WBO belt.
Revill quit as the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association following the Parker win over Ruiz Jr saying the decision was embarrassing for the sport.
Revill, however, felt there was no doubt about Parker’s latest win - although his words were not so kind when talking about the fight in general and Parker’s opponent.
‘‘Parker bolted in. I had the fight 118-111,’’ Revill said. ‘‘[But it was a poor fight for a world heavyweight title fight, I don’t think Fury was up to it.’’
‘‘I don’t know how the WBO made him the mandatory challenger, he ran all night.’’
Revill, a referee and a judge in New Zealand, was certain Parker won but wasn’t as certain it would go that way after the fight.
‘‘I was frightened they were going to give it to Fury. The Fury’s thought he won the fight, but which fight were they watching?’’
However, Revill isn’t convinced that means Parker will now provide some worry for his potential future opponents.
‘‘Going on that performance by Parker, Dillan Whyte would beat Parker, Tony Bellew would beat Parker, and David Haye would beat Parker.
‘‘For the first part of the fight Parker was chasing him around and then he started cutting the corners off. But it was too late because Fury had Parker chasing him the whole night.
‘‘Parker should have cornered him and battered him and finished it early, but it didn’t happen. And for me, it was a boring fight.’’
Cameron, a former NZPBA heavyweight champion, had a different view as he praised Parker for keeping his cool against an opponent who tried to frustrate his way to victory.
Parker pressed forward throughout the contest and landed the heavier shots, albeit without staggering his taller rival.
Cameron felt Parker handled his first test in the UK well given Fury’s awkward defensive tactics.
‘‘You’ve got Joseph Parker, he wants to defend the title successfully, and overly he applies pressure, he’s the one initiating the fight,’’ Cameron said.
‘‘Then you’ve got the other party, who wants to roam and doesn’t want to be part of the confrontation. I know it’s very frustrating for Joseph but he kept calm and his overhand right was landing well.
‘‘Fury’s a very, very awkward fighter but he still managed to come away with the win which was awesome.’’
It was not a hugely entertaining spectacle, which would not have helped Parker’s bid to build his profile in the lucrative British market.
However, Cameron said he was prevented from showing his full array of skills due to the constant clinching by Fury.
‘‘All he was doing was holding,’’ Cameron said. ‘‘One guy was trying to throw punches and land punches and the other guy was just trying to get away. As soon as Joseph got close to Fury he grabbed hold of him and shut him out.’’
Parker now returns to New Zealand for a holiday as promoters Duco figure out his next move.
A top British opponent may be on the cards but after putting the tricky mandatory challenge of Fury behind them, Cameron hopes they find someone more suited to Parker’s style.
‘‘One thing I know about Joseph, he doesn’t back down from anything,’’ Cameron said. ‘‘So I’d like to see someone who doesn’t want to be on the back foot all the time, doesn’t want to stay away and will form part of the action.
‘‘There are fighters out there that want to come and fight and entertain the crowd.’’
"I know it's very frustrating for Joseph but he kept calm."
Shane Cameron, above