Team Parker's confidence

Duco and Higgins generally seem amateurish and ham-fisted- but they get results.

Posters here ridicule them a lot and that's understandable. Also, 90% of commenters in NZ seem to think they are idiots and Parker would be better off without them.

I can't understand that. I think it's a minor miracle that Duco got Parker a WBO title shot in New Zealand when he was 24 years old and that they have now got him the Joshua fight. I get that they come off as idiots but how can you argue with those results, when ultimately Parker is a good but somewhat unspectacular heavyweight from a small country at the bottom of the world?

 

It's far higher than Team Wilder's confidence, that's for sure.

 

I’ve been listening to Parker interviews for years and I think he has charisma in spades. He used to be sponsored by the radio station I listened to so I would hear interviews before, after, and between every fight he had. He is sharp, funny and likeable, which is the opposite of uncharasmatic. It seems even the majority of posters here consider him a good guy that they want to see succeed in the long run.

I do agree that he isn’t much of a trash talker though.

 

Not to mention they made Jeffrey Horn a household name in Australia, but I do think you are underrating Parker a fair bit.

Parker has a great highlight reel, he is one of the most spectacular fighters on the planet.
Not many beat him, and none do it easily.

None including a big stiff bodybuilder, Joe will be more than competitive with AJ, I expect AJ to be in the fight of his life!!!

 

This

 

I think that title shot was mostly due to Arum. Arum had Ruiz and his potential draw as a Mexican heavyweight to get the fight made. Arum was also using the fight in NZ to bolster Jeff Horns reputation.

 

And Horn is/was also a Duco fighter. So somehow Duco have taken Horn and Parker (arguably two fighters who aren't *that* great) and somehow managed to hook them up with Bob Arum, and some combination of Arum/Duco have manoeuvred these guys quickly into big fights.

I think it's pretty impressive however you slice it.

 

Don't read much on Parker's height and size now they have stood face to face. I think when they stand in the ring with even sized heels on their boxing boots, it'll even up even more.

 

But surely Parker was wearing dress shoes with his suit and so would have had equal or more heel than AJ?

During the AJ-Wlad press conferences it was apparent AJ doesn't usually wear big heels. Klitschko repeatedly blew him out of the water with his penchant for lifts.

 

Agree with the op. That promoter of parkers doesn't sound all that confident now the fights been made. Which is madness considering Joshua's flaws are there to see. He's great...we all get it but parker isn,t that far away from having the tools to win this fight.

Their also walking into Joshua's trap. He's going down the route of klitchko s reign with trying to keep everything under his control. Like trash talk for example. He does it in a smart passive aggresive way...by making you seem unreasonable to trash talk because hes just spoke about how we both deserve respect both done great etc. What he's doing their is starting to get parker under control from the start.

You,ve got to do the opposite. Go in on him get him out his comfort zone. Whyte done it and got success. Chisora done it with one of them klitchko,s and got success. Fury done it with the other one. Take the control out of their hands. I bet this is gonna turn out parker not even throwing that big bomb he needs to be looking for.

Phsycology is just as important as any other attribute with fighting. A lot of these fighters have big ego,s...crack the ego then you,ve got a chance.

The promoter fell into the trap far too easily with both hearn and Joshua. Parkers naturally like that. So a bit more difficult for him. But for one fight he needs to up the ante. You won't beat Joshua turning up without getting him out his comfort zone with reach/height disadvantages etc.

 

Its one thing spouting off from New Zealand. It's another thing landing in the UK and breathing in the air of reality. They're underdogs. There's no denying that. An amateur like Higgins has a hard time hiding that fact.

 

There's 1.5 or 2 inches between them. Parker will be fine with that.

I can't see Parker getting out-psyched for this one.