You need to have the skills and balls to defeat the two hardest hitters in the division twice in a row, Joseph Parker is the next to rule the division...
I like Parker's future in heavyweight division, the top guys are getting on the sunny side of 40 now and his relative youth is coming in handy these days.
The only guys I would bet on against Parker these days are Usyk and perhaps Joshua. And yes that includes Fury. Usyk has lost a step but would still beat Parker, but Fury has lost more than a step and has been looking absolutely terrible lately.
Joe is capable of it after Usyk retires. But honestly he’ll have his hands full against Zhang in a rematch. Something tells be Big Bang is seriously crafty in making adjustments and capitalizing on opponents mistakes he missed the first time. He sure as **** did in the Joyce rematch. But I think Jalolov will rack up the belts after the Paris games. I’d say probably within two years. I really believe he and Parker will meet eventually. That will be a hell of a fight imo. Edge to the double Olympic champ but Parker would definitely by a live dog. Wouldn’t be that heartbroken at all if Parker won though. He’s a good dude.
This talking point is leaving out a lot of context. Both Wilder and Zhang barely did anything in those 2 fights besides try and land the bigshot. Yes "beating the two hardest hitters at HW" is one way to phrase it. I would be stunned if Parker becomes the unified HW champion of the world. Hes an interim champ right now maybe he beats Zhang again and holds on to that. Then what? I don't understand what people are expecting of Parker. They expecting him to outbox Usyk or AJ? What about Dubois or Kabayel? What about Fury or Hrgovic? People keep saying Parkers number 4 and while that might be his ranking do I think hes one of the 4 or 5 best HWs? No. No I don't. I don't see him taking over the division when Usyk, Fury and AJ leave either which is what some of you are saying you think will happen. I see him being in the mix same as hes always been. I don't even dislike Parker or anything. Him winning the belt would be a nice feel good story. I just see a level of optimism coming from his last two wins I'm not understanding. Also why isn't Wilder losing to Zhang effecting the credit Parker received from that win?
I strongly disagree with this, Parker is having a fell good moment at this time which is great for him, but he’s just an above average heavyweight, Cinderella‘s night is over when he steps in with a fighter with a good engine.
Alright... I've long liked Parker and I'm thrilled with his recent successes, but for Christ sakes, this is getting out of hand and a reality check is in order. Parker is still the same Parker he was before, no better, no worse. He merely found himself in a position in back to back matches that were stylistically advantageous to him. He performed well against Wilder and Zhang, because they played into his hands far more than many of his recent opponents. Both are low output, with fairly easy to dodge power punches, that he could pick apart from range or sporadically ambush, flurry on and outwork. Parker's head movement, feints, footwork and speed will always be problematic for most lumbering Frankenstein's monster Heavyweights, same goes for the featherfists like Massey and Hughie. But front foot heavy pressure fighter/swarmer high volume guys like Joyce and Chisora will always be problematic for him, just like Takam and Ruiz were problematic for him. So no,he's not teh 4th best of his generation, he isn't in his prime and the face of the next generation, he doesn't beat Joyce in a rematch, he certainly isn't the guy to beat Usyk, he probably wouldn't even beat Kabayel. He beats Dubois, Hrgovic, Sanchez, Ortiz, Wallin, Anderson types, and that's about it. The only big guy I think he could pose a few problems for his Fury, due to his speed. Now get a grip, all of you.