It's too late for a new trainer now. He has bad habits that will never be trained out of him no matter who trains him. Everyone will want a piece of him after that performance.
I just rewatched the 4th round, didn't see a single counter punch from Parker. You're mistaking trading with counter punching they are not the same thing. Parker can counter, I've seen it, but he doesn't do it enough. When your opponent acts you not only have to react to counter but be in a position to react and all too often when an opponent steps in, throws a jab etc, basically any aggression he switches to a defensive posture and is unable to counter. An opponent goes at Joshua he has more options, he can do what Parker does and go for a little jaunt around the ring where he dances along the ropes and isn't in a position to counter but he doesn't do that often. He'll more like take a step to the side or a step back, block a shot and counter. What he doesn't do change his body position where he can only defend and not counter.
I disagree. Parker is younger than Joshua and I see changes in Joshua in almost every fight. He's at an age where he can still learn, make minor adjustments to his style that will add an extra dimension and have a dramatic effect on his performances. But he has to have the right people around him and the will and discipline to put the work into adding new skills.
I didn't see the fight last night, I haven't seen a replay or highlights yet but from what I've read Parker didn't look very good. I like Parker, I rate him too but I think you have to take in to consideration a couple of things, firstly the change of opponent, he prepared for Fury who is a completely different type of fighter and might have disrupted him and last weekends fight betweeen AJ and Klitschko was so entertaining Parker did have a lot to follow. Also Parker did actually win, defended his title and I've heard it said good fighters win even with bad/poor performances and he did win so I think it's harsh to blast him and start saying with confidence the likes of Dillian Whyte will beat him.
Parker beat this guy 10-2 so what's the fuss? Late replacement, sparred many rounds. The guy came to survive. Parker beat him and got the W.
Good point. I think that definitely played in to it. I believe Kiwi is right- Parker's stagnated- but sometimes fights with sparring partners turn out like this (particularly being such a late replacement). Think they sparred around 80 rounds. Parker also would've had no incentive to hold anything back because he never planned on actually fighting the guy in a "real" match. The net result is he was facing a guy who knew practically everything he brought to the table, and who made the decision to fight to last, not fight to win. Tough to look great under those circumstances even if he was still improving.
May not have been the fourth, was just a guess as the rounds dragged on, but I distinctly remember a time early-mid fight where for maybe 40 seconds Parker was just backing up and counter punching, and he looked very decent. Apologies but you couldn't pay me to rewatch the fight and find it, but I did note it in my head
Bellew mentioned by Team Parker in post Cojanu fight interview. http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11851173
Hughie Fury mentioned as well as he is the mandatory but Wilders also in there as well. http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sp...ny-bellew-next-for-wbo-champion-joseph-parker
Just saw the fight in its entirety, and I have to say that Parker didn't look as bad as I feared. Rather, he just looked very lacklustre and un-fired up. He won rounds without breaking a sweat, and when he did unload he looked fast and sharp. He showed a sharp jab, a decent variety of offence, and moved round the ring well (though I don't like the way he goes back to the ropes; he simply doesn't fight well off them). Cojanu didn't seem particularly phased by anything he threw, but then sometimes guys like that can surprise you with their toughness, especially when they know a fighter well and know what's coming back at them. It was no doubt a disappointing performance, but I think people are losing sight of the things Parker did well in there, as well as overlooking the fact that he wasn't remotely in danger of losing the fight. Hopefully a fighter who takes it to Parker will bring out more of the dog in him. He looked like he was just going through the motions tonight.