Usyk saying no Itauma

Eye test, possibly.

Equally... It's only as good as the levels you prove it at.

And since his return, Fury's only fought that way against Usyk (lost clearly despite some decent rounds) and in Wilder #1, where he almost got counted out against the guy Parker completely shut out... Albeit whilst fat and rusty - and the draw was a robbery.

Is it definitely a cert that Fury's much better, then?

I don't really know... Parker's much closer to prime, he's on a good run and beaten both one of Fury's top 3 plus another guy who beat the same common opponent... On paper at least, Parker probably deserves a bit more respect - or Fury deserves less, whichever you prefer.

 

Some people do...

The options with Parker are either that he thinks he can find bigger money fights, or he's worried about losing... Given his record, probably the former.

With Kabayel it's the same thing except that Kabayel brings far less legacy as well, as things stand.

 

I don't see it.

How is a rusty Fury going to get it back without time for tune ups?

Plus... He has two distinct styles that don't combine.:
He can be slick and difficult to hit but carries very low power himself - that version lost to Usyk twice, convincingly.
Or.
He can be more aggressive, but much easier to hit and still only carries okay rather than huge power - and he can't afford to be more open against Usyk when he was so close to being stopped already, plus Usyk's fought bigger punchers and not been stopped so middling power isn't going to cut it.

Fury realistically has no chance at all.

We don't know how Parker would get on (though likely to lose), or Kabayel (more likely to lose) or anyone else he hasn't fought yet.

 

Because he's not a total *****.

That should be the norm - it's a disgrace on the division that these men hide to protect position when they should be fighting and proving they deserve to keep it.

 

Don't forget the Whyte, Chisora and Klitschko fights. In the sense of actual technical ability, specifically defence, head movement and technique I think Fury has shown more than Parker.

Parker is a much more serious boxer than Fury these days though.

 

Kabayel is an example of this sadly.

Going straight from a fringe contender to a journeyman/ancient prospect whilst not fighting for a year in your prime years??!!

 

To be fair, I was speaking mostly about since his return...

Overall as a career yes Fury's shown a bit more - but in terms of whether Parker now would be a better fight for Usyk now than Fury was? That's a lot closer than I think most would admit

 

Lots of them do it...

Hrgovic lucked into a mandatory and sat on his ass wasting away.

Kabayel beat a couple of hypejobs and an ancient fringe contender and got himself into a mando and... Goes to fight a circus bum fighter.

It's understandable on some level, but that doesn't change that it's cowardly and bad for the sport.

 

He better not.

 

Sorry , i cannot help you . .

The facts are on the table and i explained it to you multiple times .
if you think he does not avoid parker but will fight him next then please do so .

This reminds me when i was a kid and a big fan of david hasselhoff and knight rider . I had a music casette with "i,ve been looking for freedom" which i listened to all day long .

Should at this time anybody tell me that david is not the best singer ever lived i would have scratched him out his eyes regardless of facts .
And you have your hero .

 

Is it not a disgrace the time Parker has been waiting for his WBO mandatory shot at Usyk ? I’m not 100% sure but Parker became mandatory in March 2024 with his win over Zhang. The WBO twelve month after this win in 2025 then ordered negotiations to begin for Parker to get his mandatory fight with Usyk. Parker still has not been given a date for the Usyk fight,it certainly will not be in 2025 so it will have to be sometime in 2026 and in all likelihood it will not happen before March,so it’s not out of the realms of possibility he could have been waiting more than two years for his mandatory fight with Usyk.

 

It's disappointing, and he's clearly the most deserving... I'm not sure I'd go as far as to call that a disgrace but to each their own.

But this is precisely the point...

In a multiple belts era, when some fighters only fight once or twice a year? It can take a while.

When guys sit on mandatories for years and hide from challenges to maintain that mandatory status? That's not good for the sport, the division or the fighter themselves.

Sure, it makes sense to protect that position if you're a gutless punk, or if you know you're not very good... But it's not what warriors do and there's no honour in it.


I think Parker should be commended for continuing to take decent fights whilst mandatory - that should be the norm, but because it's not we should give him credit for it.

 

It all flows down from the champ, for better or worse, if the champ is fighting often, or at least clear with what he is doing then the fighters below him will do the same and the fighters below them will follow suit etc.

But when the champ goes on holiday and doesn't let anyone know what he is up to then everyone just holds their place to see which way they jump.

Parker fighting Wardley, in what is effectively two top contenders and mandatories eliminating each other is a rarity and not the norm.