Why isn't Turkyi supporting the Parker mando?

I think the Parker-Itauma one may be in play

But only if Itauma beats Whyte

 

I think its a combination of a few things. He likes Fury or Joshua and would prefer them to be unified champ, they also bring more money (though I think this is a much smaller consideration.)

He doesn't like Parker's style as a 12 round, low risk, negative pressure fighter. And because Parker ruined the Joshua vs Wilder party and then has had the temerity to not lose to Zhang or Bakole like he was supposed to.

I posted this on the other thread, but its worth giving Junior Fa's video on the subject a watch. He was in Wilder's camp to help him prepare for Parker and heard how everyone, including Turki, was hyping up and getting excited for the Joshua vs Wilder fight and discounting Parker as not a threat at all.

 

parker is a unique fighter in the top 15. fastest hands, experienced, former world champ and happy to stick on the outside and win rounds.
since the lee revival he has been excellent. he is doing what people thought joshua was redeveloping in the post usyk fights.

usyk has gone agaisnt the slugger in dubois, the mauling of fury and the combinations of joshua.
a guy who is holding his own on the back foot with a jab who is already well seasoned against southpaws and jabbing down hill...i dunno i could see this being a test.

it's almost like why people might have backed khan against mayweather. khan couldn't take a shot but his hands speed and length might have been the best chance to beat him....doesnt mean that khan should have got a crack at that or if he is better historically or p4p against PBF.

so "casuals or even hardcores don't want to see it" is why gatti fought de la hoya, antonio escalante getting big fights or rocky juarez constantly getting title shots.

 

“A boring easy fight for usyk”
People like you are what’s wrong with boxing. What’s the point of working your way to a mandatory spot if your never going to get a shot at a belt? You say casuals and hardcores don’t want to see it - where have you been man? We do want to see it! Parker stepped to him in the ring, what more do you have to do?

If Usyk is a true champ like everyone bangs on he his, he would accept the challenge.
But no, we’ll get a rehash of the same boring fights against Chisora or Fury.
How hard is it to fight someone new?
Parker and Kabayel (and probably Ajagba to be fair) should all be having a a crack at a belt. Then there’s Wardley, Hrgovic, Torrez, Jalolov, etc, etc.

Fight a mandatory or vacate the belts.
It’s getting a bit boring now…

 

I like this one. Parker keeps screwing up the fights Turki wants to make by not losing. This is 100% true. First, he beats Wilder, derailing the AJ fight. Then Zhang and Bakole have good performances, and Turki has eyes to do something interesting with them. Except then Parker beats them both.

Although… if I’m Turki and annoyed with Parker and any buzz around him, why not just make the Usyk fight? Likely outcome is Usyk knocks the Parker train off the rails.

although the theory about wanting Usyk to be stripped of the WBO to free up the belt is a good one. Except, I wouldn’t want to send in Ituama against Parker at this point. Parker is likely to derail things once again. If I’m Turki, what I do is send Ituama in against a train of has beens with big names to build him up and give him rounds. After Whyte, why not Wallin, Ruiz, etc? Maybe cap it off with Hrgovic. If Ituama gets through all that convincing, and does something impressive like blast out Hrgovic, then I’m thinking he’s ready to fight whoever has the belts by then.

 

im with you that Usyk needs to fight Parker, or the whole system isn’t remotely fair. Parker is by far the most deserving, has become the mandatory by taking dangerous fight after dangerous fight and winning them. Give the man his earned opportunity.

I think the way the sanctioning bodies should handle this **** is by stripping the belt and giving it to the mandatory, then ordering an immediate mandatory against the next one up.

 

Correction: if Usyk drops the WBO belt, Parker as an interim title holder gets elevated to the full status without any fights for the vacant belt.

 

Because Turki either wants a British fighter to fight for the title and/or he wants a fighter of African descent to fight for it.

Parker is neither a British citizen nor is he of African ancestry. Its Turki who brought ethnicity into this by saying he thinks boxing will be bigger if there is a black champion. He seems to believe that because Ali and Mike Tyson were very popular, that it is necessary to have a African descent champion.

I think he is genuinely confused. The kind of popularity that Ali and later Mike Tyson had can't be replicated now. You would need a character and fighter that exciting to replicate that. I don't think boxing's popularity is going to go up in the US even if you have an African descent champion. And i doubt boxing can be any bigger in the UK than it is now.

The people dismissing Parker vs Usyk need to remember that just a few years ago, many people were arguing that Usyk was too small for Fury and hence, the fight should not even happen or it isn't necessary.

Well i am glad that Usyk-Fury happened and the "experts" like Andre Ward who said Fury had too much mass for Usyk were proven wrong. Imagine if Foreman didn't fight Ali because Ali struggled with Norton and Frazier whom Foreman disposed off. Styles make fights and if you want to be the best heavyweight in the world, you must defend your title vs as many different opponents as possible instead of rematching the same guys over and over again.

Even if you believe Usyk will sweep Parker 12-0, it is a fight that needs happening. Parker took on Zhang when virtually no one wanted to fight Zhang. He took on Bakole and Wilder. What's the point of taking on dangerous fighters if people are going to dismiss your chances before you have even gotten your title shot?

The fact that Chisora and Joshua were even mentioned in the post fight interview is absurd and unacceptable.

 

Turki wants Usyk vs Itauma.

 

4&5 could be part of it but Usyk has 3 interim champs and the only body without an interim champ has named Chisora as a mandatory. Theres 4 sanctioning bodys mandating Usyk fight 4 different people. The WBO is a major org but they don't tend to come out ahead in these sort of disputes regardless. Parkers interim lineage has been active 3 years, 3 champions and 5 fights now this didn't start yesterday.


Maybe I'm giving Turki too much credit here but if he see Itauma as a "cash cow" sending him in against a Parker at this time is a surefire way to ruin someone he could be making big fights with for 20 years.

 

I cant speak for the rest of the world, but in the US, race seems to matter **** all for athlete popularity. We may have other issues, but racial **** in sports isn’t it. We like athletes who are good at what they do, entertaining to watch, and have big personalities. Doesn’t matter what they look like. Shouldn’t the popularity of Joe Louis in the pre-civil rights era prove this?

as it happens in boxing, in the US, it’s often the black greats who have the big personalities. Johnson, Ali, Tyson, late career Mayweather, etc. but give us a big corn fed white farmboy the size of Fury with the personality of John Cena who generates highlight reel KOs and he’d be huge.

the current problem with boxing in the US is a lack of heavyweights, too many young fighters influenced by late career Mayweather, and a lack of appreciation for smaller guys.

 

Think Usyk vs Fury match is just a way way bigger PPV and Media Event to put Riyadh in spotlight again vs marketing value of a Parker match relatively average

 

True. I think it matters little here in Canada as well.

The Klitschko era really hurt heavyweight boxing in the US. Wlad was such a boring boxer which such a negative clinchy style that he destroyed the popularity of heavyweights. And the US simply has more alternative sporting options than many other countries - NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and even individual sports like golf, tennis, MMA (UFC) etc.

Race matters very little. Itauma becoming champion will do nothing for the popularity of boxing in the US. Unless a US born and raised fighter becomes a credible heavyweight champion, it won't change anything.