Has Joseph Parker deteriorated as a boxer?

No way has he deteriorated but it wasn't too impressive, just like his display vs Cojanu. Dominant boxing wise but unable to really put away a pretty static opponent.

 

If Parker has no balls or no heart (or shrunken testes, as you put it) .... how come he got up TWICE against Dillian Whyte (once from a huge headbutt, once from a massive left hook) and fought back to almost stop Whyte in the 12th ?
Explain how a fighter lacking in heart can do that ?

As for the Joshua fight, Parker tried to take the fight to Joshua (he even chased Joshua across the ring at one point) .... but the referee split them up whenever he did so.

The whole thing about Parker lacking fire and heart is just a load of bull.

Your hero Wladimir Klitschko, some say, developed a whole style of wrestling and grabbing to cope with his sheer state of being absolutely petrified of being hit, so it's strange that you'd join the ignorant chorus of people talking crap about Parker's heart.

The truth about Parker is that he's just not an incredibly explosive fighter. He's a very good all-rounder and he's tough and durable. But he's not an exceptionally explosive puncher or finisher and sometimes boxing fans will find that a bit boring to watch. Others will appreciate his skills.

 

This was predictable when he lost to AJ and Whyte in successive fights.

It became difficult to market himself against anyone in the top 20 without him first proving himself again

He clearly lacks power, and a nasty streak. It is the determining factor in those 2 losses to AJ and Whyte. Although many argue the referee was also a factor in the AJ loss.

Flores ranked around 150th and Leapai ranked around 57th.

He should have done Leapai in 6 or 7 rounds maximum, and not needed the referee to jump in after 10.

 

I actually think Parker's one of the most explosive punchers in the sport when he wants to be. His problems (as I see them at least) relate to his lack of urgency and his predictable attack patterns. Good fighters tend to pick up on that and adjust accordingly, which negates a huge part of his effectiveness, even if his overall speed and workrate still allow him to win rounds.

He's kind of a hard one to put your finger on when criticising him though. For instance his punching technique is pretty good, but it's not allied to a world class boxing brain. His combinations are well put together, but there's no variety in them. He has great heart to fight back from adversity, but he has a tendency to coast when not put under undue pressure.

He's like a really good workmanlike fighter, blessed with great speed and chin but no flair to his game.

 

"workmanlike fighter" is probably what I was getting at.
There's nothing sensational in the way he operates usually.
I think he's been doing okay though, really.
He's faced a lot of different styles and it has produced some dull results but I had him winning close against Ruiz and clear enough against H.Fury too .. and I think he had legitimate complaints about the referees in both his official losses.
He might be lacking that extra 'X' factor to make him the top dog but I'm not ready to write him off as others have done. He can box pretty good and that's an increasingly rare quality at heavyweight these days.

 

Yeah, it's pretty amazing how much success he's had with such a rudimentary style. Even when guys figure him out, which is usually fairly early on, they're still unable to do anything about it.

I certainly wouldn't write him off, but he hasn't shown the types of improvements or changes that lead me to believe he won't get beaten again sometime down the line by another Whyte-calibre fighter. And the older he gets the less his speed will be able to make up for his other failings.

 

WRONG! The truth is Parker has the stamina and durability to mix it, but when faced with a top opponent won't risk enough to do so.

Parker can be an explosive fights, did you see his fights on the way up? That was when he let his hands go. Where did that Parker go? Parker's opt-out allowed Joshua to skate to an easy win. Where was Parker's urgency in the later rounds where he knew he was behind and wasn't likely to get a decision? Nothing less than the #1 spot was on the line. I didn't see any fire. That's my point and you can debate it if you wish. Opting out when you're badly hurt and not likely to win, okay that's tolerable. Not risking what is needed to win when you're behind without being hurt or marked up is not.

Wlad, out of the ring for 1.5 year at age 41 almost beat Joshua. He didn't opt out of trying to win that one, and if he was a few years younger, or had a ref that didn't allowed Joshua to spit out his mouth piece to regain time on unsteady legs might have won it at age 41.

At any rate Wlad's effort at age 41 towered above Parker's effort in his prime vs. the same guy. Thanks for proving my point, though I do not think it was your intention to do so.

 

You get it. Blind Parker fans won't. I just call lack of urgency something else.

 

1. It was a gift decision in his country and 2. I said recently that since their fight Ruiz has gotten better while Parker has declined. Ruiz crushes him in a rematch.

 

Parker definitely fought much better than Wladimir did against Joshua. Wladimir won a couple rounds before getting KO'd.

What are you comparing Parker with the best HW of the past 20 years for if you are trying to talk Parker down? I think you accomplished the opposite.

 

It was a crap stoppage, Leapai would have seen out the 12 if the ref didn't step in like he did.

 

Passed out last night, I think the heat during the day got to me, it was a very long day.

Anyway watched Parker this morning, I have mixed emotions about his performance last night.

I liked his punch variety, I liked how he varied the power in his shots, he threw a lot of punches and didn't look tired and didn't lose his shape, he was never in any trouble and never looked like losing.

I sort of understand the criticism about Parker not ending it earlier, I'm not sure he actually really wanted to, it looked like to me he was working on things, I could be wrong though.

And let's be honest, the referee or corner could have stopped that fight far earlier, it went on far to long, but I can completely understand why people were not impressed with the length of time it took Parker to get it done.

Even if Parker was working on things he could have got through that in the a few rounds and then stepped it up and ended it.

So that's my criticism.. It all looked a little once paced, Parker didn't go through the gears.

I like Parker and believe he still has a lot to offer the division.

 

I thought Parker came in and did his job against a guy with a very solid chin, he got the TKO and will now move on to bigger and better things. Leapai didn't really offer much but he is at the end of his career with 1 win in his last 6 fights.

 

Yeah he probably could of, but you have to ask a few others questions..

How many clean punches was Leapai taking?

Was Leapai landing punches?

Was Leapai winning any rounds?

Did Leapai look like winning or pulling out a spectacular turn around?


It was one sided, Leapai was taking far too many shots, it should have been stopped earlier, his corner should have pulled him out, the moment the referee felt justified he stopped it, I have no problem with the stoppage.

The old "a fighter has to be saved from himself" applied last night, there was a lot of pride on the line, Leapai wasn't going to quit, he was taking clean solid shots round after round, so the minute Parker made a sustained attack at that part of the fight the referee saved him because his corner didn't seem to give a toss about him or his health.

 

Wladimir destroyed prime Leapai in 3. Parker struggles with ancient Leapai.