That fight sucked. I never realized Parker went to the Kevin Cunningham school of boxing. He was fighting like Devon Alexander in there and it was not pretty to watch. It was quite an unimpressive way to become the first New Zealand HW champion of the world, that's for sure. I really didn't like how Parker was fighting tentative throughout and was on the back foot all night but Ruiz was just as bad by following him around the ring and not throwing any punches. Frustrating to watch to say the least.
The problem for Parker was that whenever he stood and decided to trade with Andy Ruiz, Ruiz got the better of him. Therefore in order to win- he had to snap and move. That got him the points win against a difficult opponent. Ruiz of course did not throw that much whilst chasing Parker- he had a jab to contend with and he is not exactly in great shape either.
I think if Parkers faces AJ any time soon he will be too hesitant to fire off. He looked very tentative to engage, showed too much respect to Ruiz. He can't go in against anybody with some pop with the mindset 'gotta be careful or could get hurt' or the big boys will blast him out. Could be down to hometown nerves on the big scene but I like him when he fires off combos!
The accuracty was not really there for either guy either. Just another big letdown of a fight in 2016. Hopefully all of tonight's fights won't suck.
You probably dont understand boxing. For the casual fan, Im assuming which is you, the fight was boring. For the purists and those who have boxed it was an ok fight. Look at the pre-fight videos where Parker talks about the fight, Parker stated that he was going to fight that way.
