Pretty unlikely fight as of right now since Parker is in a pretty good position for a title shot but we'll see what happens over the next few months. Parker has expressed interest in a rematch for years and I don't think AJ would be opposed to it either.
Parker should win this now, and probably would as AJ is scared, slow in hands and feet now, and if AJ does go for it he'll get countered and isn't the most durable. That being said, as a Parker fan I would still be a bit worried that he gets too passive and loses a close decision to the Joshua jab.
AJ beat Parker easily in the first match but based on current form, it's hard to pick against Parker.
It was reasonably close the first time, Parker has massively improved and is on the up, AJ has declined and is on the way down...so I'd pick Parker.
Reasonably close? That fight was wider than Aj Usyk 1 lol. And for my 2 cents if AJ is cooked like some think it could easily be a replay of the wilder fight. I'm not convinced he's that well done yet tho and could still beat Parker but it wouldn't be a walk in the park.
Yeah kinda depends how you define 'reasonably'. I think the ascent of Parker and the decline of AJ makes the scorecard gap in the first fight reasonably close enough for a rematch.
Parker treated Joshua with a lot of respect the first time around. Perhaps a bit too much. But a lot has changed since 2018. Parker's stocks are highest they have ever been and Joshua's the lowest they have ever been. Could go either way. Perhaps Parker edges it?
Maybe so but I think the only thing that makes the 1st fight warrant a rematch is the last face first outing Joshua just had.
100%...but that's boxing. Parker is looking fantastic, AJ is looking not so great. A rematch could easily go Parker's way.
Parker should have won the first fight but he seemed content to display only enough skill to comfortably last the distance and end AJ's KO streak. Parker's career form went into a slump from the Cojanu fight (2017) all the way up to the Chisora fights (2021) where he improved. I think AJ and Whyte caught him as he was in stagnation. Credit to Joe Joyce, he actually knocked out a better version of Parker. Who knows. Parker 'should' win. But 'should have' won the first one. It's not a bad fight for AJ to go for, if he wants to get himself legitimized as a contender.
