Joshua KO puts positive spin
Joseph Parker’s next fight could be in Auckland, Christchurch or back in the United Kingdom as he plots a way back to the top of boxing’s heavyweight division.
The 26-year-old New ZealanderSamoan watched Anthony Joshua’s latest victory while on holiday in Hawaii and told the Herald via a text message that he was impressed with the way the Englishman picked apart Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium yesterday with a seventhround stoppage.
Joshua looked rattled in the early rounds as Povetkin charged at him and scored with left and right hooks, but in the end, the Russian became the 21st opponent to be stopped by the unbeaten 28-year-old.
Parker remains the only professional to go the distance with Joshua. His unanimous points defeat to Joshua in Cardiff in April came before a similar result against Dillian Whyte in London in late July, and for Parker, the holiday will soon be over as he prepares to get back into serious training — probably this time next week — as he eyes a return to the ring before Christmas.
Parker’s promoter David Higgins pocketed a little cash after betting friends that Joshua would win by stoppage in the seventh round and now he has to prepare to outlay a lot more to attract a high-calibre opponent for Parker to New Zealand.
Higgins said he had “three irons in the fire”, including a ready-made option in the UK, but it’s Parker’s preference to fight again in New Zealand for the first time since May last year. Since then, he has fought Hughie Fury, Joshua and Whyte in the UK.
The issue as Parker rebuilds following his defeat to Whyte in which he was floored twice — the first time due to a head clash — before he fought back to send his opponent to the canvas in the 12th round, is that the Kiwi, who lost his WBO world heavyweight title to Joshua, is seen as a risky proposition by prospective opponents who therefore want to be paid accordingly.
“We can’t put up a weak opponent because the New Zealand public is too well-educated boxing-wise for that and it would make it tough to sell tickets and pay per views,” Higgins said.
“The challenge is to bring a credible opponent to New Zealand to fight Joe and it is a challenge in the commercial sense.”
Higgins said he hoped to announce an opponent and venue soon but that Parker may be back in camp in Las Vegas before that happens. Parker is due to fly back there in about a week.
Higgins said it was possible Parker could be back within range of a world title challenge by the end of next year but the “stars had to align”.
A good victory in his next fight could raise the interest of a rematch with Whyte and/or a bout with fellow Englishman Dereck Chisora, and a victory in either or both of those could put Parker in line for a rematch with Joshua.
Joshua’s next assignment will be on April 13 at Wembley, probably against undefeated Deontay Wilder, who is scheduled to fight Tyson Fury on December 1 at a United States venue yet to be announced.
“Joshua has dominated everyone except for Joseph Parker,” Higgins said. “Full respect to Joshua for the way he fought [yesterday] but Joe going the distance with him shows how good a performance that was. And Joshua didn’t even hurt Joe.
“That is a chink in Joshua’s record that he might want to try to put right some time in the future.” Anthony Joshua put down Alexander Povetkin yesterday, meaning Joseph Parker is still his only opponent to avoid a KO. Alexander Povetkin has gone the way of 95 per cent of Anthony Joshua’s other professional opponents — finished within the distance — a result that, while not all that surprising, does shine a positive light on Joseph Parker’s performance against the man with the sledgehammer right hand.
Aged of 39, Povetkin looked anything but washed up as he charged at Joshua with leaping left hooks and overhand rights from the first bell.
He got success there, too, with blood trickling from Joshua’s nose after the early exchanges, but such is the 28-year-old Englishman’s accuracy, power and youthful energy that the brutal stoppage in the seventh round was as inevitable as Tyson Fury slagging him off afterwards.
It was the first time Povetkin, a tough former Olympic gold medallist, had been stopped in 36 professional fights. The only other man to beat him as a professional is Wladimir Klitschko.
This was a performance and a result Joshua needed to not only retain his three recognised world titles
Joshua has dominated everyone except for Joseph Parker . . . Joshua didn’t even hurt Joe.
Parker’s promoter David Higgins
but to draw a line under his last fight against Kiwi-Samoan Parker in April.
That bout at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium was more chess match than bar-room brawl — a relatively sedate state of affairs helped by the appalling officiating of referee Giuseppe Quartarone, who refused to let either man — but particularly the shorter Parker — engage on the inside.
But Parker should be proud of the part he played in that fight, which was extremely close after six rounds before Joshua pulled away.
The scrutiny on him was enormous in the days before and as he walked to the ring in front of a crowd of nearly 80,000 people in what was a truly intimidating cauldron.