Is Joseph Parker too evolved for the 1970s ?

If he's allowed to take PEDS then his opponents in these mythical matchupds should be allowed to take them too.

 

Considering the fact that they were using stone heavy bags, dinosaurs for sparring partners, wrestling with Sabre Toothed Tigers for fun, and fighting to the finish with bare knuckles, back in the 70's, I would say they would have hurt "Mr. Evolved Parker" and possibly badly!

 

I am a fan of Parker but let's try to be objective here.

He was 267 lbs in his last fight but that ended in 2 rounds. We don't know how his stamina would hold up in a 12 round fight.

In the 1970's, he would be fighting 15 rounders. Do we honestly think that 270 lbs of weight is ideal for keeping up a high work rate for 15 rounds? Unless he gets an early ko every time, he will run out of energy late in the fight.

Is he going to score an early ko every time? Vs Ali who was never stopped, vs Foreman, vs Frazier, vs Holmes etc.? Really? Everytime? You know that Jack Massey went the distance with him.

Look at how the 263 lb Fury struggled to sustain a high work rate vs a 223 lb Usyk.

Parker's best fighting weight IMO is around 240 lbs or so. And Parker is very unusual in the sense that he has a very stocky build. The average heavyweight of his height would ideally weigh 220 lbs-225 lbs.

Bigger does not equal bigger puncher. Parker at 267 lbs isn't a bigger puncher than peak Wilder was at 213 lbs. Parker can certainly punch but his biggest asset are quick hands and good boxing fundamentals.

If bigger automatically equaled better, we wouldn't see these giant heavyweights unable to keep pace with a 220-225 lb man.

 

You know how I often post about how I think todays "small HWs" are less of a threat to superheavys then 180-190 HWs from the earlier 20th century?

When I say that I'm thinking about Parker. Hes the proxy for that concept in my brain. Hes fighting a good 50 pounds heavier then someone his size from the 30s like Art Lasky. Theres guys his size who can 175 which is like 75 pounds lighter. Parker can't crack someone like AJs chin and he can't outfight him either. Parkers built to survive 12 rounds at the top level but only wins at the top level when his opponents aren't. Except the Wilder fight when he has won its been by a close margin.

The top 70s HWs except Frazier, Quarry and Ellis are only a little smaller. Parkers power doesn't stand out, his workrate doesn't stand out his durability doesn't stand out. The only thing that stands out is hes slower. Parkers needs to be a little quicker then guys even heavier and slower then he. And in the 70s hes not going to find that. Parker could lose weight but then hes honestly a different fighter. Either way he probably would be successful at the regional level whether it be Oceania or Commonwealth, dominant in the former a champion in the latter. But when he fights Bugner or goes to the world level that would end.

Offensive lineman might be great athletes but they are fat because thats what the position requires. That fat might come off them the moment they retire and those guys could be shredded if they weren't making millions of dollars being fat but theres nothing ideal about that configuration. Offensive linemans job is to protect the QB and the rulebook has been evolving to make that job easier and easier not their bodies.

 

Well he’s 260-ish lbs 6ft4 and is a cagey guy with a good chin in his prime as we speak… I think and say this unhappily that Parker would probably beat Frazier… sorry, he’d also beat GF and Norton but Holmes and Ali likely beat him, Jimmy Young has a shot too it’d be a boxing match and I don’t think JP’s overly impressive in that regard without being a meany - Lyle and Shavers get rolled lol.

 

Last I saw, there is little/nothing to choose between Usyk and Parker height wise.

 

SATAN THE LORD REBUKE YOU

 

Really a troll post, right?

You fooled some of us.

 

I think that objective eyes on boxing is a warm welcome… posters who say things like Ali is too durable for counters / feints too fast for XYZ and vaguely utter the words “lead right hand” everytime Usyk comes up are keeping us in the dark age with mythology, is Ali a great boxer? For a heavyweight yes - did he on a technical level struggle with B tier guys YES… Ken Norton was KO’d by a 188lbs guy, Frazier would be a LHW today and Foreman would need to totally rebuild his style to succeed. It can be upsetting for people to realise that fighters can lose to people you don’t deem “special” but it happens, Pinklon Thomas could likely beat Marciano it’s not a big deal it doesn’t mean he’s primitive it means Thomas beats him, same as if Ali losses to Usyk - Louis is more “advanced” then both but it is possible for him to lose to both and we should keep every era accountable to that fact without just S-ing on modern athletes or casting “he’s an ATG” as a magical ward… someone like Bonavena could beat Norton, Ezz Charles very likely beats Bonavena but gets chopped up by Norton and all three could lose to Andy Ruiz Jnr and in the same breath I’d tell you Liston beats Ruiz Jnr but losses to Byrd etc etc etc - not much separates the very good and the great it’s written all over history “styles make fights” - usually.

 

Wait a minute.. Good left tackles kick every ass on the field. Nobody but nobody ****s with a good left tackle. Not even rugby players.

 

Buddy they likely did, Ali was at the same olympics as the first wide spread PED use he took diuretics the intent to use a doctor for an edge is a bit of a smoking gun in a way, fighters have had doctors injecting them forever… Duran openly said he took something they give horses, he was a late 60s-70s guy. papers talking about PED abuse was published in the 70s right around the time when the type of guys we’ve never seen before started showing up your Nortons, Ali’s, and Foreman’s etc - a journeyman named Bob Hazelton started taking gear in 69 when he lost to Foreman it’s extremely likely they were taking PED’s in a more primitive sense.

 

Parker has a 76" reach and weighted under 240 when he fought Joshua ... the 270 is absurd.

 

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