What happened to Joseph Parker ?

Didn't have the grit or dog in him.

Being a mobile HW is a hard thing to do. Look at pretty much ALL of them. They are not very mobile. Even Usyk as he's got older and put on some pounds has slowed although I think this is tactically achievable because he doesn't need to move as much against these big slabs. Fury was an outlier historically and set a precedent like young Ali but now with age he has slowed also.

Parker fought afraid of AJ's power and got roughhoused by the physically stronger Whyte.

When your exhausted you have to be able to find composure and fighting spirit which he couldn't. I think when the mid/late bout starts Parker becomes void of energy and goes into a bit of a survival mode.

Parker will be game for Wilder....but after 4 rounds energy zapping and Wilder rocking him with a touch of death all the fight will drain out of him.

Boxing is about mentality. How many clean shots off Joyce's dome did it take for Parker to think "omg I cannot move this man" and how many lefts off Zhang did it take Joyce to think "oh my god I'm not a juggernaught"? and how many knockdowns off Nnganou/Dubious did it take for Fury/Usyk to think "Oh no the bag!"

 

December 2016 he 'won' the vacant title with a majority decision over Ruiz and then followed it up with another majority decision over the legendary Hughie Fury.....7 years since beating Ruiz and not a lot to shout about since

 

Whyte got the decision over Parker for the sole reason a clash of heads was scored as a legit knockdown,this clash of heads also took a few rounds for Parker to clear,as well as Whyte fighting dirty and the Ref did nothing at all about it.Parker should have had an immediate rematch but it never happened .

 

Kevin Barry. Barry helped Parker become wealthy, but did fully develop Joe as a fighter. Parker has moved on from Barry, but it is likely too late.

 

He flourished in a weak era and since then has floundered when the going got tough

All of that said, I actually really like him. Fights regularly and whatnot. Seems like a good lad

 

He definitely has good attributes.

He is one fighter you can almost tell by the way he looks on the scales if he is going to perform. When he carries extra weight he is slower on he feet and gasses out.

Hard to tell what he has left at this point. I see him getting cleaned out by Wilder but if he comes in shape then you never know.

 

Parker is pretty young dude who earn millions before he was even 30 years old.

That dude % got motivation problem. As Smart Man said in past its hard to wake up to go for training (hard one) when You sleep in kashmir.

Im pretty sure that he lost focus after Joshua fight and split with Barry.

Dont know if its good idea to be friend with Fury because he probably learn Joseph how to party hard way...

 

After the monster payday with Joshua Parker’s ambition for the sport died. For the Joyce fight Parker looked like one of the most unmotivated fighters I’ve ever seen.

Parker for the last couple of years has basically been cashing in on his status as a former champion by just being an opponent for other top fighters, which is still making him plenty of money, so I can see why he just goes through the motions.

 

Let's say it for what it really was, he wasn't "champion", he was a belt holder. He was never one of the top ten heavyweights in the world. Somewhere in the top fifteen.

 

Do you despise Parker??
He was definitely a top 10 if not top 5 HW at one point. In a fragmented era where nobody is undisputed w/all the belts, you can say every champ is a "belt holder". Some with more than one. You can call Parker a one belt holder HW champ - as you can many others like Wilder.

Some of the comments above that JP lost motivation or didn't have enough dog in him may be partially true.
I like Parker, seems like an upstanding man and sport. I hope he upsets Wilder... to hell with an AJ-Wilder bout.

 

The left hook that Whyte caught Parker with would have put most HW's on a stretcher with an oxygen mask attached, just ask Chisora. I actually believe Parker is one of a very select few HW's who could weather a Wilder KD. that's why Parker/Wilder for me is so compelling.

 

Looked like he was gonna be a bit of a star when he was coming through. Remember him having very fast hands for his size etc. Then seemed to stall. I think in fairness he stayed in barrys house for a while where barry for his faults kept him disciplined. Also think he might have had shoulder problems or something like that along the way.