Has The Parker Illusion Broken?

Yeah, I never understood the Parker Train. He didn't seem to particularly excel at any aspect of the game, just a good amalgamation of solid abilities, any of which could be exploitable by the right opponent. Be interesting to see how he bounces back.

 

He's one of the best heavyweights of recent years. When you fight good quality opposition you are likely to lose a few.
He was the underdog against Wilder and against Zhang, but won those fights and some people might have over-rated him after that. And now he's lost to an underdog people will make out he wasn't any good. That's all it is.

 

He is out of shape and probably underestimated this fight, 260lbs~ and bad stoppage but yes, mid fighter.

 

It’s called recency bias and boxing fans tend to be the worst. After any given big fight night, fans tend to over evaluate performances of losing and winning fighters. I’m a little shocked that Marcus hasn’t yet posted Prime Ali v Wardley. It’s all subjective but I agree that Parker was overvalued by his fans (and the books ) based on his wins over 40 yr old + Zhang, past it Wilder, and woefully out of shape Bakole. Parker was a whisker away from being stopped by Zhang and he would have been had Zhang had any semblance of a gas tank. That being said, he was also a whisker away from winning yesterday and getting a fight w Usyk. Parker is FAR from “gatekeeper” status. He is/was a solid bona fide contender, so I think you’re partially undervaluing his performance. Wardley is no stiff and he’s improving each fight. It was a sensational fight yesterday between 2 genuine top 10 fighters.

 

When was the last time Fury, Joshua or Wilder beat someone as good as Fabio Wardley?
You'd have to go back years, if at all.

 

If a 30 something fighter balloons up another 20 lbs from their 20's, they're certainly not in great shape. That will usually negatively affect your stamina, footwork, work rate, reflexes, etc. And it did for Parker. Just because he didn't have flabs and a gut doesn't mean he wasn't overweight and worse off athletically. He was never a real puncher and Bakole fiasco got to his head (knocking down a 2 day notice fatso with an equilibrium shot doesn't make you Joe Louis).

As for Parker's recent win streak, I mean it was decent. He had a semi resurgence of his career but still looked vulnerable even in some of his biggest wins such as Zhang. But it's strange how people raved about Parker but didn't think much of Dubois streak.

 

Parker is really good, but he lacks a bit of power or stamina to be at the elite level. While he's faced everyone, his resume is questionable. The wins against Chisora I, Ruiz, and Zhang were very close.

 

In fairness to Parker, he took risks. No one (except maybe Usyk) wanted to fight Zhang after he destroyed Joyce twice. I truly doubt that Fury or even Joshua would have accepted a fight with Zhang.

Yes, Zhang does not have much of a gas tank. But that doesn't matter if you can't avoid him for 6 rounds. I firmly believe the Zhang that fought Parker was significantly better than the guy who showed up vs Kabayel a year later. A year can make a massive difference at that level.

Parker took on a guy whom no one wanted to fight post Joyce #2. People are forgetting how scary Zhang was back then. I doubt a single top 10 heavyweight could have beaten Zhang without being knocked down at least once. Are we really sure that Fury or Joshua would not have been knocked down at least once by the same Zhang that Parker fought? Dubois went down to a jab, if Zhang landed one full power left hand, DDD could go down too. Even Kabayel went down vs Zhang once.

Perhaps Usyk could beat Zhang without being knocked down. But Usyk's defense is built to counter orthodox fighters. He has beaten southpaws as an amateur and at cruiser in Glowacki and Mnchunu. But those guys weren't massive hitting heavyweights. Usyk is not accustomed to defending vs big hard hitting left handers. Against orthodox fighters, Usyk can easily see their punches. What happens when he fights a 6'6 inch southpaw with big power in both hands? As good as his defense is, the punches you don't see coming are the ones which will knock you down. I am pretty certain Zhang could floor Usyk at least once though i am also 100% sure Usyk would get up and comfortably outbox him.

I think Parker gets criticized too much by folks here (not by you) for being knocked down twice by Zhang. Zhang is the kind of guy who would likely score at least 1 knockdown vs anyone in the top 10.

 

Parker is a very good and proven fighter who took a risks and deserved a title shot very recently but just clearly not in Usyk's level.

 

Agreed. I'm a huge fan of Parker as a person, but all the talk about him being the 2nd/3rd best heavyweight, from people on these forums, and in the media was making me cringe. Despite that, I expected him to have enough to beat Wardley. But there ya go. Even Parker's best wins, you feel he had to have the perfect gameplan to pull it off. It feels like the boxing version of parking the bus and holding onto a 1-0 win (those who are familiar with football will know what I mean). Look at the way he beat Zhang versus the way Kabayel beat Zhang. That's why I've said for so long that Kabayel deserved the shot against Usyk way more than Parker. The way Kabayel steamrolled Makhmudov, Sanchez and Zhang really impressed me.

Parker has never been, and never will be top top level. Similar to someone like Dillian Whyte (when Whyte could actually be arsed, not the Whyte of nowadays).

 

Unfortunately its s trend of boxing fans to pile in and write off a fighter for a devastating loss, and why the fan base can be so toxic.

The dude comes from a tiny country of 5 million on the other side of the world with very little pedigree in combat sports and has been perennially Top 10 ranked for a decade and literally fought all comers in an era where that has not been the case. Proper throwback fighter. Not the most clinical or ruthless pugilist but a true warrior who will leave a good legacy when he hangs them up.

 

You are correct. But on the flipside: His loss against Whyte was very close too, if I remember right he would have got a draw if the first knockdown (a head-butt) had been correctly called no knockdown or a foul. His loss against Joshua was clear but the referee didn't let them fight in close at all, which allowed the longer reach boxer to bag the rounds. And this loss against Wardley, many are calling it a premature stoppage in a close competitive fight.

I just accept the results, wins or losses, as they are. Because it all evens out usually.

 

Bakole in good shape would have bashed Parker good and proper

24 hours notice, he took a few good shots off Parker, popped Parker's nose then decided screw it walk him down and got chinned because of it. No way Bakole with a camp fights with such a gameplan.

Parker has a lot of issues, one of them bieng his power zaps pretty heavily later in the fight. Wardley was the one who's composure and form looked to be taking a hit during the late part of that bout yet Parker was the one who found himelf getting chinned. That's HW boxing.

Parker with his expierance should have been the man to come on strong but he didn't. Wardley was REALLY knackered in there visibly more so than Parker. Both of them slogged their hearts out.

Need to give Wardley a little credit also he was up on his toes boxing pretty damn well at times for a big man who had a tendency to take too many shots in his earlier bouts. Ben Davison defence focus influence worked well here. He fought a good game...

Both REALLY static though at times, just standing in front of each other.

It really is funny watching Fury & Usyk fight compared to everyone else in the division their both sex gods in that ring with their feet.

 

Parker beat 3 top-10 guys back-to-back. He was in the form of his life and deserved a crack at Usyk based on this alone. No illusions, I didn't see anyone say that Parker could beat Usyk. Parker is the fighter that people think Chisora is. Chisora is the gatekeeper. Parker was a legit contender who blew his own chances, taking on a dangerous top 10 guy when he didn't have to.