This. Unless Parker is willing to get a new trainer to fix his mistakes he’ll keep falling short whenever he steps up. If he isn’t willing to replace Barry he should just make it easy on himself and retire now.
Parker has time on his side, needs to keep building though. I agree with those suggesting he could benefit from training in the UK/America under a new coach. Takam seems like a good choice, Browne would not help him IMO, he's way beyond that sort of level. I think his optmal route would be Takam followed by Ortiz, then he can realistically look to challenging for his old belt again against probably AJ, Fury or Wilder.
Browne in Sydney is easy money for both. A lot of Kiwis and Islanders in Sydney. It would get Oz/NZ mainstream press coverage. It would get casuals at the gate.
I think Parker could be right back up in the mix very soon. I saw on another thread that you said about him facing a UK HW but I don't think that would be the best move for him. My reason for this thought is that he could get much higher rating by not boxing as tough a fight. The UK HW scene is tough for so few HWs, because of that they often don't get as much credit or as high a rating because they end up in a round robin against each other. I would favour Parker if he uses his good movement to beat HWs like Ortiz or miller and that would likely earn him a good rating
So anyone that isn't the number one in their division should retire? Boxing would be a pretty awful sport with this mentality. On this basis, would hope to see Gassiev, Jacob's, Groves, Brook, Linares, Pedraza etc retire too. Forget that this is their job.....
Povetkin would generate interest for sure. Same with Chisora or Whyte. Those are UK fights. Or Browne in a THUNDER down-under....
I didn't say he has to be number 1. What I said is clearly Barry isn't getting the Job done. I have Parker as a top 10 heavyweight, but in my opinion he's the weakest of the bunch. As he is now he can't beat Joshua, Wilder, Fury, Ortiz, Povetkin, or Whyte. I also think even Miller and Pulev would would get a decision over Parker. The only person I could see him possibly beating is Kownacki. If he doesn't make a change he's just going to turn into a punching bag for the other top heavyweights. Also, my statement wasn't to throw shade at Parker. He's done well for himself by getting two very good paydays against both Joshua and Whyte. Parker has a good chin and fast hands, but his mistakes are as plain as day. Parker's footwork, punching mechanics, and timing are the worst out of the top 10 heavyweights and Barry hasn't done anything to fix it. Watching both Whyte and Parker prepare for their fight I seen Parker hitting the heavybag and was shocked Barry kept letting Parker make mistakes without correcting him. I have no doubt that Roach, Shields, the Mayweathers, McGirt, or Robert Garica would've corrected Parker on the spot. I also don't get comparing Parker to Gassiev, Pedraza, and Linares, since none of them have Parker's potential in my opinion and they fight in mediocre divisions, Brook had a lot of potential, but has been damaged goods ever since the GGG fight. Jacobs is a good number two and will most likely continue to be a top 10 160 or 168 fighter for a few more years as long as he stays injury free.
Like everybody else, I think he needs a new trainer. I also think he needs to be the fittest heavyweight in the world. His hands are fast but his feet aren't. To be a chance against Joshua, Fury, Wilder etc he needs to be able to get inside their range. I was good to see him let his hands go on the weekend. Working the body and head with good power and real speed. Those combinations weren't there against Joshua and Whyte. If he can't get fit, inside and throw he'll probably just be a gate keeper from here.
Unfortunately I suspect this to be the case. Parker's already stagnated at this point that his age is irrelevant.
I think Parker's hit his ceiling, and I doubt even a new trainer could undo some of the ingrained bad habits he's gotten into at this point. The best that can be achieved is conditioning work and keeping him sharp in the ring. An aggressive high volume punching style from a man with Parker's attributes could cause a lot of top guys problems, even if it wouldn't cut it at absolute world level.
