FURY vs PARKER - May Be Next

I'm enjoying Parker's career so far. The highlights:

- His progression to world class contender status with wins against Takam & Dimitrenko.
- His world title win against Andy Ruiz. I thought he did well to finish with his nose in front after falling behind early.
- Two successful world title defences, one in his opponent's backyard (yes, he could have performed better, but wins are wins).
- A big-money unification fight with AJ in which he became the only fighter to take AJ the distance (I thought he did the best he could on the night).
- A competitive & entertaining scrap with Dillian Whyte (again, in his opponent's backyard) in which he overcame two knockdowns (one illegal) to nearly stop Whyte in the last round. While he certainly could have fought better, if it had of gone another 30 seconds he would have won.

A shot at the Lineal H/W Championship of the World will be a great next chapter in his career. The eyes of the boxing world will be on Tyson Fury's next fight.

And as I've already said, don't underestimate how much getting dropped hard twice against Wilder may have taken out of Fury.

Fury's camp haven't underestimated that possibility which is why he's not rematching Wilder straight away.

Timing is everything in this sport & Parker's time may have arrived. If that fight is on the table, Parker should go for it.

 

Good stuff, Sandman

I hope he does not!

 

Parker can outbox Wilder.

 

Lots of people could outbox Wilder - doesn’t mean he won’t catch them with a huge shot and win the fight.

 

Hughie Fury and entertaining should not be in the same sentence

 

Well, I do realise he gets some stick on here partly for not being a big puncher, partly for losing.
I'm coming out as a big H Fury admirer. There. I said it!

 

Maybe you watched another fight! Parker did very well, but was beaten by a higher workrate. I didn't see him on "his bike" maybe you need to re-watch it

 

Except Chisora didn't "turn the screw" on Fury. He got bested in the first fight and utterly outclassed and TKOed in the second. And Parker fights nothing like Chisora in the first place, so that's a very inaccurate and (pardon me) somewhat pointless comparison to make.

 

In terms of class Wilder doesn't belong with Joshua and Fury; Fury proved as much. I'd personally put Wilder in Whyte/Povetkin territory right now until he proves otherwise.

As for size, he's actually little more than a very lanky smallish HW himself, not a giant. Both Joshua and Fury tip the scales around 240-250. Wilder tips the scales at around 210-220, a good thirty pounds difference. Parker might be shorter than Wilder but he's a solid 230 when in shape, and a fight between the two would be competitive right now.

I agree with you that Parker might just have hit his ceiling, and both he and his team have realised this, though I don't see that a world class trainer wouldn't be able to wring that little bit extra out of him which might be the difference between above average and world class. He gave Joshua a tough fight and nearly beat Whyte so it's not like he's totally hopeless at world level. His problems tend to be tactical issues rather than physical ones, it appears. Trouble is, he's not going to make that jump without changing trainers, and it looks like he's going to stick with Barry till he retires.

 

Fury vs. Parker I don't see why that is better than fighting a rematch with Wilder. What's the one-sided result of Fury vs. Parker going to tell us specifically?

 

I don't know if he will, but he could. Parker has one of the best chins in the division, and is mobile and fast enough to keep out of Wilder's way while landing his own shots. I think the fight would go down to the wire with a closer than expected result.

 

You're pardoned sir!
True what you say, I just dislike the flippancy with which Parker's skills and performances are dismissed.
I agree Chisora was out classed, no doubt but Fury can go off the boil a bit and 'box down' to his opponents level imo.
Just saying that JP has very real routes to victory (even against Fury), and whilst he hasn't shown the hustle to really stamp his authority in high level fights, he shouldn't be classed as a plucky also-ran.
A somewhat re-tooled Parker could well upset the applecart against Fury, especially if Tyson isn't 100% on his game come fight night.
It's Fury's fight to lose but I would say that against any opponent, not just Parker.

 

Oh, I have the highest respect for Parker, both as a man and as a fighter. In fact, besides Fury, he's my favourite active heavyweight. But the skill level here is just too much to overcome. Even though Fury tends to fight down to the level of his opposition, he still pulls out the win, and I can't see anything Parker can do that would alter that balance. He doesn't have lights out power like Joshua and Wilder, he doesn't have crazy skills like Usyk, he's just a very predictable burst fighter with good handspeed and a great chin.

As you say, a re-tooled Parker might well be a very dangerous man indeed, but the trouble is he won't leave his team and now that he's taken a couple of losses he seems to be settling into a certain groove that isn't conducive to growth. He's still young, but he's reaching that point of no-return that'll determine the rest of his career from this point out, and I don't see any indications that he's going ot make the necessary changes.