Parker must corner the market with new trainer
Joseph Parker’s next coach will be a proven international and there is a real rush to get the appointment done. Parker and long-time trainer Kevin Barry amicably ended their eight-year partnership yesterday, a rollicking ride that netted the wbo heavyweight title and took them around the world gaining both global respect.
But it had grown stale, a longdistance relationship strained by Parker’s natural devotion to his young family innew Zealand and made almost unworkable with the global pandemic hitting travel so hard with Barry’s base in Las Vegas.
With Parker adamant he can still be a force in the elite core of the glamour division, he felt it was time to get a fresh voice in his corner.
This is amake-or-break call by the 29-year-old who will have only one more push at the belts, given his repeated promise to walk away from the game at a relatively young age and with his faculties intact.
No new trainer has been appointed as yet and the search is heating up.
Parker has the chance to fight rugged British fighter Derek Chisora on May 1, meaning real urgency around the need to lock in a coach.
That fight is only eight weeks away – pretty much aminimum time for a training camp. Parker has proven in the past he likes to back up quickly, though hewas caught out by rushed preparations to fight Dillian Whyte at short notice in 2018 and paid the price with a loss from which he has never recovered in terms of getting top-level opponents.
Given that has been on the cards for a while, it’s hard to imagine the move to part with Barry was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Parker must not go for a stop-gap measure here. He needs and deserves another world-class voice in the gym and his corner. The appointment must be decisive and permanent.
The New Zealand market simply doesn’t have anyone in the class required to get Parker back into title contention. A local trainer would be a backwards step.
With rankings of No 3with the WBO, No 6with the IBF and No 7 with the WBC, Parker should be a sought-after commodity for any trainer with a proven record and yearning for a heavyweight assignment.
It will be fascinating to see who comes out of the woodwork and how they look to manage a new relationship in these unusual times.
Reinventing Parker will be a stimulating challenge.
The biggest criticism around his game has been a supposed lack of power against top-drawer opponents.
Barry did wonderful stuff in working around that. He has made Parker a shrewd fighter, able to accumulate points towin in different ways as his 28-2 record proves, with Barry involved with all but the first four fights of the Kiwi-samoan’s professional career.
With his rock-solid jaw and good fitness, going the distance has never been an issue for Parker.
Fresh ideas and methods, and a new voice, now seem crucial to motivate Parker.
Too often in recent years we have heard Parker air his frustrations after bouts at not being able to implement training techniques and plans into fights.
This will have been the toughest decision of Parker’s career.
Barry has been a father figure to him, opening his house to the shy young Polynesian giant in 2013 and helping shape the smiling persona that has made Parker so popular outside of the ring.
They can be justifiably proud of their partnership, themost productive in New Zealand boxing history and one that has set Parker up for life.
This is not a panic move or a crisis call by Parker, and not one that should reflect poorly on Barry.
But the next decision by Parker may be even tougher. He must get it right – he needs the best trainer he can get, and quickly.
‘‘Parker . . . needs and deserves another world-class voice in the gym and his corner.’’