Parker lost because he believed the fight with Usyk was a done deal...

I don't think he underestimated Wardley, Huni is just a better version of Parker

 

Parker took a massive risk for a decent pay day.

In reality, fighting Wardley was not going to prep him for Usyk. You don't need rounds to get ready for Usyk. You need the right type of rounds. A fight vs a left hander like Kevin Larena would have been far more beneficial to Parker than fighting Wardley in preperation for Usyk.

Parker lost because he used the wrong game plan. Came in 15-20 lbs heavier than his best fighting weight. Trying to be too agressive at times.

Parker showed agression in the first round and that was the right thing to do to earn Wardley's respect. He should have been defensive minded from rounds 2-7.

After he won round 9, all he had to do was box on the backfoot. But the extra weight didn't help.

 

I am really upset with Andy Lee. Why did you even allow this? Get Parker to fight Richard Torrez Jr. or Kevin Larena. Hell a fight with Jalolov made more sense from a stylistic point of view than Wardley.

Even if Parker would have beaten Wardley, how in the world would that prep him for Usyk? Wardley fights nothing like Usyk. He is tall, orthodox, a big hitter, telegraphs a lot of his shots, does not move like Usyk, doesn't have a fraction of his defensive ability or footwork.

And even if Parker would have beaten Wardley, he would have had to eat big shots to do so. He has already taken heavy shots from Jocye, Zhang, Joshua, Whyte etc. Did he need even more brain damage going into the Usyk fight?

Just perplexing decision to even allow this fight. Parker's coach and management team must had to have known that Parker was not going to beat Wardley AND come out unscathed. Why take unnecessary damage and age yourself even faster before getting a title shot?

 

I do like Huni, but saying he's a better version of Parker is incredibly premature. Parker has solid wins over several top 10 fighters. When he beat Zhang and Wilder, they were arguably in the top 5. Huni has nothing on this level, and his only venture into anything remotely world-class saw him get flatlined.

 

He was definitely overconfident because he reads this forum every day with Higgins and they giggle about how they're really the third best HW in the world with great skills and new Kronk power but got unlucky over the years.

Also, fabio was considered a puncher with low skill and experience, so a comfortable win. I think he is that, but the problem is that he's still better than Parker. If he was just a puncher, the fight wouldn't have been close before the TKO.

The question now for Higgins is does Usyk still need Parker to have a perfect resume? Or is Chisora actually a better win?

 

There was nothing about the way Parker approached the fight that suggested he underrated Wardley. He was ahead on two judges' cards and level on the other.

But in heavyweight boxing you are usually only a punch from disaster and Parker suffered the same fate as Huni.

 

Parker is not stupid . The usyk-parker fight should have been a done deal without fighting wardley first . There was no final eliminator needed .

Parker risked everything for nothing and deserves deepest respect . He fought wardley to stay active , to keep the division moving .

He just made the mistake believing it will be an easy night .

 

Agree will all of that except the ending.

I'm sure Parker thought he could win. But thought it would be an easy fight? No, nothing he said or did gave that impression.

 

Parker went in there to take Wardley’s head off, he took it very seriously. He came up short though, he just doesn’t have the punching power to mix it at the top level.

 

That might be true , i agree . Maybe "easy night" is not the correct phrase for what he believed .

 

I think this is what happened.

Usyk vs Parker just wasnt getting anyones juices flowing, especially Usyks. Parker felt like a brutal stoppage over someone like Wardley, get on the mic and give a great speech and maybe that will force the fight. Unfortunately for him, the only reason people wanted to see him face Usyk was because he deserved it not because anybody thinks he would pose a challenge.

Wardley winning was the best thing, simply because hes a wildcard. Hes the type of guy you give a 10% chance to but thats all he needs. The story, the style, everything about Wardley is intriguing.

If you arent more intrigued for Wardley vs Usyk than you would have been for Parker vs Usyk then you are lying.

 

How the fight went tells you all about how each of them would stand little chance against usyk.

I believe usyk has at least as good a chin, way better stamina and way better movement and boxing than parker. So how will wardley trouble usyk. He might catch him a few times but it won't trouble usyk and he will be quick to get out of the way and not get pummeled like parker. And parker lost because He was exhausted, not hurt. unimaginable for usyk.

And seeing the fight, i am not sad to miss out on usyk parker because there was nothing from parker that Made me believe he troubles usyk.

On the contrary i think dubois gave it a good go against usyk, even though he too couldn't do much

 

Seems Huni hype is still not over.