I didn't find their first fight close, I also felt the cries of foul regarding the ref have been blown out of proportion. I give Parker a lot of credit for his comeback vs two top guys in the division and many picked against him in both fights. I know I picked Wilder and was 50-50 on the Zhang fight AJ also appears rejuvenated, yes I know many will tear down the quality of his wins but I don't think AJ needed to prove his ability. AJ's issue has always been between the ears. He seemed to have lost his edge after losing to Usyk twice and appeared to have lost a step vs Franklin and Helenius. He certainly appears to have that edge back. The question is how does he do when faced with serious opposition when the going gets tough. I am very curious to see a rematch seeing as both men have established themselves as leading contenders while the two champions are unifying and may be busy for the rest of the year. While I also feel Hrgovic deserves a big fight, I would love to see this rematch. I have to say I favor AJ to win but I think Parker will be better this time around
I said nothing silly. I said if Parker couldn't ko a weak Wilder and get knocked down by a fat Zhang then I believe AJ could ko him or at least win a decision. I see nothing silly or crazy there. I did not mention Parker getting wiped out by Joyce, because he's seemed to be doing a lot better under Andy Lee's tutelage. But AJ has been on a win streak as well, except he has recent ko's. I'm no AJ fanboy. That's laughable. I just logically see their recent performances and also AJ's former victory over Parker as reasonable evidence that he, AJ, will defeat Parker.
Wilder for all his faults has a fairly solid chin imo. Sure Parker got KD'd by Zhang, but who wouldn't with a punch like that? AJ got dropped by Ruiz at will. Can't really see AJ knocking Parker down but it's possible. As for recent performances, Parker fought two top 5 punchers. AJ fought one top ten and a novice. Not really comparable.
Every reason to believe Parker can "take away" AJ's best weapons just like he did with those other guys... Which he has got almost no credit for doing
What are AJ's best weapons If I may ask. AJ is a better boxer than Parker (first match proves this) and lands cleaner than him. Only reason he lost to usyk is that Usyk is levels faster than all the HW,but you still have to go check Usyk's face at the end of both matches.
The idea would be to take away the right hand of AJ - meaning he becomes reluctant to throw it and fails to connect with it. Parker even did this in the first AJ fight - but I think he would be much more aggressive with it now
Like I said I am not convinced. He did not handle Whyte correctly the first time. Dubois is debatable but I lean towards Dubois now trained by my guy Don Charles. Joe Parker is to up and down for me. I personally did not think his performances against the shell of Wilder and Zhang was that great to be honest.
You lean towards Dubois yet his best win is Jarrell Miller which he struggled and he has a host of bad performances. Parker would school him and then knock him out. Stop overeating this guy.
I think people are not truly understanding the breakthrough that Parker has made. He is now super-fit and can go pretty hard for 12 full rounds He uses sudden HARD attacks and also feints and movement - all together - to take away the best weapons of the opponent. He stays in the pocket where possible - not escaping. So he can attack suddenly and unexpectedly. Facing him, I think, is becoming more and more of a frustration and a nightmare for many HWs. They don't know how to deal with what he brings.
Ruiz also had to batter Joshua senseless to stop him. What other fights was Joshua "stunned big time"?
I don't see Joshua knocking him out, but he should beat him on points again. It's a rematch I'd like to see though.