Dud fight shows Barry may not be the man to get

Is trainer Kevin Barry the right man to take Joseph Parker to the next level of world heavyweight boxing? There must be some doubt.

The Barry question is inevitable after Parker’s lacklustre/horrible effort against awkward Romanian Razvan Cojanu.

Simply put, the Joseph Parker we know right now is not world champion material, not a real world champion. He isn’t good enough. All the talking in the world doesn’t change that.

Great fighters of the past would have destroyed him. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua would be overwhelming favourites against him. Boxing’s inevitable smoke and mirrors, the outlandish claims, the maneuvering, the multiple belts, won’t change that.

I raise this question with all due respect to Barry: Is he too close to Parker? Is he the right man for his man? Would someone else be better able to unleash Parker at full strength?

Indeed, the loss of Hughie Fury as an opponent, the quickfire change to a smaller venue and low grade opponent, has ended up casting serious doubt on Parker’s credentials although everyone who is anyone will be more than happy to fight him now. As for $50 a shot for the TV viewer, it was seriously overpriced.

I raise this question with all due respect to Barry: Would someone else be better able to unleash Parker at full strength?

What can Kevin Barry do to turn things around?

Until now, trainer Barry and protege Parker have been inseparable, and the whole Duco operation has deserved plaudits for getting Parker into the ring so to speak, as the heavyweight division rallies around its new spiritual home in Britain.

Parker is like one of the Barry family in Las Vegas, but it looks as though something different needs to