So, is Parker now officially the 3rd best heavy of the post-Klitskcho, pre-Usyk era?

Parker has always been, in my view, a very solid if unspectacular fighter. Top 3? I dunno about that. I think Parker looked his best against Wilder and that Wilder looked like a bad version of himself. If you said top 5 I might get behind that.

 

In my humble opinion, that's recency bias playing in. Imagine this thread made after his lost to Joyce.

 

1. Usyk
2. AJ
3. Fury
4. Ruiz / Parker / Wilder

 

After Klitschko era we also got Povetkin who do pretty damn good job even when they stop him with those silly PED thread. Imo Povetkin beat Parker.
We also got Whyte who win with Parker and few other names. Close fight but for me Whyte was little better.

I know that Joseph Parker win over Wilder is massive for his career but still pls let's not behave like a pendulum that swings from one extreme to the other without being able to stop at a moderate moment.

Parker is good warrior and boxer but he dont improve now 150%
It just Wilder style was better for him.

There is still big possibility that reematch with Joyce for example can be his limit if big Joe confident and chin is not destroyed by Zhang.

Parker got now gold ticket to proof himself much better. He is in position to choose many good fights. How those fight end tell us how good Parker is.

 

1. Usyk
2. AJ
3. Fury
4. Ruiz / Parker / Wilder / Zhang / Hrgovic

 

Parker has always been criminally underrated and Wilder grossly overrated.

Wins over Ruiz, Wilder, Chisora, Takam and Hughie is solid record. It's the next best record after Usyk, AJ, Fury and Whyte in the division.

Zhang and Dubois turned Parker down before Wilder agreed. I'm hoping for Parker vs Zhang next, I think Parker is all wrong for Zhang stylistically.

 

The problem with that logic is that you’re taking the Wilder result from the end of 2023 and trying to retroactively apply it to a different time period, 2015-2021.

If results from 2021 and onwards are fair game, why aren’t we also considering:

- very underwhelming decision against Junior Fa
- dodgy SD vs Chisora 1 where the consensus is that Parker lost
- Joe Joyce dominated and flatlined Parker
- very underwhelming decision against domestic-level cruiserweight Jack Massey

The poor Fa and Chisora 1 performances are actually within the 2015-2021 time period proposed.

So quite clearly, Parker was not the 3rd best heavyweight if he was failing to beat, and getting dropped by, Derek Chisora at the time.

I like Joe Parker, seems a nice bloke, but let’s have some consistency here.

 

DaReal - I totally agree, even though I am a Parker fan.

I think Parker only started to turn things around in the second Chisora fight - when we first saw Andy Lee's influence play a big role.

It is only now at 31 that I think he is a mature, experienced, hard-hitting, tactical fighter. It has taken years and years

I am hoping and believing this change is permanent.

 

There's a good argument to put him above Fury and AJ, since:
1. Parker beat Wilder easily and wasn't nearly KO'd like Fury. AJ avoided Wilder.
2. Parker beat prime Ruiz while AJ was TKO'd also as we know. Fury avoided Ruiz recently.
3. Parker was robbed in the Whyte fight due to the missed headbutt KD. He beat a prime Whyte while AJ beat a green one and Fury a shot one.
4. Parker also beat Chisora more convincingly than Usyk. Usyk did beat Joyce but a green one.

If Parker could beat Dubois without the controversy we saw Usyk suffer, it could put Parker ahead of Usyk. Though he might need to beat Wilder in a rematch too since Usyk beat AJ twice.

 

Hrgovic>Zhang>Joyce>Parker

I dont think so.

 

Parker has always been solid though had bad luck in fights (Whyte) and his Team got it wrong (Joyce). Parker just like Joshua are now riding the crest of a wave after there recent wins and like clock work the usual accolades on here follow them as such with H2H match ups ATG rankings and the usual very common mythical match ups ! Surely we will rank them more clearly once they hang the gloves up and not while there still active,as at the moment all the current fighters are basically an open book until it’s closed . Parker can be involved in some good rematches with Ruiz or Joyce (Whyte in hiding it seems) as well as other potential fights out there. Joshua May fight Wilder next or may wait things out till the Hrgovic fight,time will tell as will there rankings .

 

Ruiz has the better win and he doesn't have any bad losses so he edges it for me. There probably isn't much between Wilder/Ruiz/Parker/Whyte.