How bad was the referee in the Joshua-Parker fight?

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by dmt, Aug 3, 2025.


  1. dmt

    dmt Hardest hitting hw ever Full Member

    11,091
    16,488
    Jul 2, 2006
    This content is protected


    For those who remember this, is it true that the ref did not allow Parker to work on the inside?
     
  2. ad4m88

    ad4m88 Active Member Full Member

    761
    601
    May 7, 2016
    BORE he lost end off going on like parker is some supreme inside fighter guy gets clipped everytime he tried to fight on the inside hence he doesnt do it anymore - joyce, whyte, chisora, zhang
     
    Joeywill, TheWizard, Overseas and 3 others like this.
  3. MaccaveliMacc

    MaccaveliMacc Boxing Addict Full Member

    4,062
    6,144
    Feb 27, 2024
    The ref was shyte. Did not allow AJ to work on the inside either. It didn't affect the result tho.
     
  4. elrond_buggard

    elrond_buggard Member Full Member

    289
    439
    Jul 3, 2021
    Not great, but I think people massively exaggerate its impact. Parker looked gunshy, AJ did what he had to do. I don't think it'd have changed anything.

    I think there's extra revisionism going on with it because Parker's on great form now while AJ looks mentally shot, so people are struggling to accept that AJ was just better at that time (and honestly, I wouldn't count him out should they fight again, but it's just hard to tell where AJ's at now).
     
  5. Kiwi Fish

    Kiwi Fish Active Member Full Member

    688
    1,123
    Dec 13, 2024
    As a Parker fan, Parker would still have most likely lost, but the ref took away the slim chance that Parker had of winning.

    Plus he was clearly out of his depth and slight biased towards Joshua, for example at one point Parker hit Joshua in the head and Joshua complained to the ref who then told Parker off.
     
  6. Ice8Cold

    Ice8Cold Hype Jobs will be hype jobs until proven so. Full Member

    2,302
    3,415
    Jan 1, 2024
    At the time a lot of people were pissed at the referee for such a boring fight, to be fair it was a very dull fight.

    However, looking back as @elrond_buggard said - Parker was pretty gun-shy that night anyhow and respected AJ's power massively. So, I'm not sure if there was much of a difference but I don't think Parker would have done much damage via inside fighting with prime AJ.
     
    Smoochie, Mickea4 and Homericlegend03 like this.
  7. Jackomano

    Jackomano Boxing Junkie Full Member

    8,241
    6,956
    Nov 22, 2014
    He was horrible. That referee was pretty much Joshua’s bodyguard. Anytime Parker came close to applying any type of pressure he kept getting on Parker’s case or breaking up the fight.

    At a certain point Parker was completely demoralized and in my opinion Parker stopped trying and just wanted the fight to be over with.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2025
  8. CST80

    CST80 De Omnibus Dubitandum Staff Member

    242,849
    236,653
    Nov 23, 2013
    Just figured I'd poke my head in this thread to defecate al over the notion that that was somehow a one sided victory for Joshua when it absolutely was not. None of the following are what I'd call bad scorers, and none of them had AJ winning.

    And yes, the referee was horribly biased and did everything in his power to prevent an actual fight from breaking out.

     
  9. miniq

    miniq AJ IS A BODYBUILDING BUM Full Member

    47,647
    27,487
    Oct 23, 2011
    Parker still gave up th ghost mid way after getting a little tired. Should have used that granite chin and gone hell Mary like Chisora would but nope ran around.
     
    Heisenberg likes this.
  10. Kiwi Fish

    Kiwi Fish Active Member Full Member

    688
    1,123
    Dec 13, 2024
    Is there much doubt that Parker would win this match up these days? Joshua could definitely still win but I'd have to give the odds to Parker here.
     
  11. Oddone

    Oddone Bermane Stiverne's life coach. Full Member

    6,076
    13,254
    Aug 18, 2019
    This.

    I remember there was some backlash at the time against the ref.
     
  12. FrankinDallas

    FrankinDallas FRANKINAUSTIN

    29,550
    36,210
    Jul 24, 2004
    But....I was told recently that I needed to get my eyes checked!
     
    catchwtboxing and Mickea4 like this.
  13. KO KIDD

    KO KIDD Loyal Member Full Member

    30,142
    5,683
    Oct 5, 2009
    I was watching the fight yesterday and all the YT comments were hounding the ref

    I think its a bit exaggerated

    He didn't allow any clinching and was consistent in his calling. The fight was mainly at range anyway

    I thought Joshua won pretty convincing so I dont think swapping the ref significantly changes the outcome
     
    Dorrian_Grey likes this.
  14. CST80

    CST80 De Omnibus Dubitandum Staff Member

    242,849
    236,653
    Nov 23, 2013
    Evidently back in 2018, you had 20/20 vision, a lot can change in 7 years.:sisi1
     
    catchwtboxing and KO KIDD like this.
  15. FrankinDallas

    FrankinDallas FRANKINAUSTIN

    29,550
    36,210
    Jul 24, 2004
    Sorry. I couldn't read your response.