(09-25-2016, 12:15 AM)Msreef Wrote: [ -> ]Saw that. Calling BS. Klit doesn't have the belts back. AJ can only bypass Parker for a unification, and it will take a while for the decision to be to strip Fury, and give them back to Wlad (it if does happen). Plus it's way to risky for AJ, Hearn knows Joshua isn't ready for Wlad!
Joshua isn't ready for Wlad???? Haha did you not see Wlad/Fury fight? Wlad got old, finally. AJ would smash him.
AJ smash Wlad? Wlad is probably the hardest puncher the the heavyweight division, can you really see Brezeale going seven rounds with Wlad? Hell no. Wlad didn't just get old overnight, he was utterly schooled by Fury. Wlad is still extremely dangerous. Going from Whyte, Martin and Brezeale to Wlad is a recipe for disaster. Let's see AJ face a legit top 15 opponent before putting him against #2 in the division.
Joseph Parker learning from David Tua's mistakes as world heavyweight title challenge looms
Trainer Kevin Barry and heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker share a light-hearted moment ahead of Saturday night's clash ...
Painful lessons learned from David Tua's failed world heavyweight title challenge are fuelling Joseph Parker's bid to go one step better.
Kevin Barry has opened up for the first time on the shortcomings of Tua's preparations for his 2000 title fight with Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas.
He has ensured there's no repeat as his new charge Parker enters the final phase of a busy programme leading into a challenge with IBF champion Anthony Joshua.
Barry admitted the move to put Tua on ice ahead of his clash with Lewis had backfired, and conceded their were matchmaking failings with none of his limited leadup fights against opponents who could replicate Lewis' size and reach.
After beating Hasim Rahman in 1998 to gain the mandatory right to challenge Lewis, Tua fought just four times in two years and his lead-in fight against American journeyman Robert Daniels was a disaster. At 1.77m and with a reach of just 1.82m, journeyman Daniels gave Tua no hints to what was in store against the 1.96m Lewis who used his massive 2.13m reach to keep the Kiwi at bay and earn a unanimous points decision.
There has been criticism of Parker's busy scheduling from several quarters with critics suggesting he has taken on too much, too quickly. Yet, now averaging around five fives a year, Parker's schedule pales in comparison to the development years of many modern heavyweight champions.
And suggestions he is taking too much risk against the likes of 2.01m Russian Alexander Dimitrenko in Manukau next Saturday and a proposed clash with 2.03m Brit David Price in Manchester in November as he awaits his title shot are dismissed by Barry with the benefit of hindsight.
"Life is full of curves and learning experiences," Barry said, admitting Tua's build-up was "not ideal preparation in terms of activity and the opponents put in front of him".
"I was managing David at the time, I wasn't the promoter. There were a lot of people who invested a lot of money in him and in hindsight, those sort of lead-in fights were safe fights for the fact of protecting your mandatory position. But they didn't help him when he got in the ring with 6' 5" Lennox Lewis."
When Barry agreed to take on Parker in 2013, he and promoters Duco Events agreed on an aggressive but planned approach towards a goal of the world title.
With that opportunity in sniffing distance that had only increased because of the size of the task in the form of the 1.98m Joshua and the super-sized owners of the other belts.
Barry wanted Parker working against XXL sparring partners and also busy in the ring against real opponents of imposing stature. They were necessary risks to try to snare one of sport's greatest prizes.
"This has never been about fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world, this has been about winning the heavyweight championship of the world and that's why as a company we are prepared to roll the dice," Barry said.
"And there is a huge element of risks in these fights. Having secured that mandatory we could have sat Joe on a shelf for six or seven months until Anthony Joshua came out and said, 'OK, now I'm going to take my mandatory' and then rolled Joe out there and rolled the dice and hope Joe gets lucky.
"But that doesn't help us win the title. We want to give him every opportunity to be as competitive and prepared as we possibly can."
Barry felt Parker's schedule had "paralleled" Joshua's.
"It's obviously working for Joshua and we are hoping it's going to work for Joe. Well, we know it's working for Joe because it has got us to No 1 in the IBF and the WBO and he's picked up seven regional belts.
"We would never be in this position in three and a half years without that schedule."
Barry feels there are many benefits in keeping Parker busy – it minimises down time, maintains weight control, creates a rhythm and allows constant development. It's something Parker has bought into from day one.
Parker says he is energised by his schedule and finds fighting around five times a year ideal.
"As a team we sit down and discuss what everyone is comfortable with. I feel like keeping busy is great for me, I love it. It gives me less time for distractions," Parker said.
Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn reiterates Joseph Parker as best option for next IBF heavyweight world title defence
Anthony Joshua's promoter has reiterated a preference for Joseph Parker to take the next IBF title shot as the top of world heavyweight scene gets increasingly crowded.
Joshua will defend his belt in Manchester on November 26 with his boss Eddie Hearn set to announce the big Brit's opponent on Tuesday (NZ time), though a delay wouldn't surprise.
The postponement of the Tyson Fury versus Wladimir Klitschko rematch for the WBA and WBO belts has raised possibilities with talk of champion Fury being stripped as his frustrating inactivity is prolonged.
Fury's camp are set to release details of his illness, reported to be mental issues, this week.
READ MORE:
* 'Medically unfit' Fury pulls out of Klitschko rematch
* Klitschko: 'Screw it' - revenge cancelled
* Klitschko could take Parker's fight v Joshua
Hearn had raised the possibility of a Joshua v Klitschko fight but doesn't believe the dust will settle enough for that to happen in November.
Stalled pay negotiations with Bulgaria's Kubrat Pulev mean that Parker is Hearn's easiest alternative through his mandatory challenger's rights.
Clearing Joshua of the mandatory now allows Hearn to fulfil his Manchester obligation and raise the prospect of a clear 2017 for him to think bigger things, either via Fury or Klitschko.
That's providing Joshua can get past Parker.
"My gut feeling it (Joshua v Klitschko) will happen in spring/summer of next year and we'll fight Joseph Parker on November 26, get the mandatory out the way," Hearn told Boxing News on Monday (NZ time).
"Also some people say well Joseph Parker might be just as tough a fight as Wladimir Klitschko.
"You don't know what he's got left. Klitschko looked awful in his last fight. Was that because Fury was brilliant or is it because he's finished? Both I think. I think he's done. But he's still very good. It's not really the power, the strength, it's just the experience. That's the only worrying thing for me for Joshua in that fight."
Parker, of course, has a significant hurdle in front of him this Saturday in the form of 2.01m Russian Alexander Dimitrenko.
Lose that and all this speculation and title talk flies out the window.
Hearn might be sweating on Parker's Saturday result as much as the Kiwis' management, Duco Events.
They have had ongoing discussions with Hearn though nothing specific about a title fight or an appearance on the undercard against Britain's David Price.
For now, the task is to work away in the background and allow Parker to focus everything on Dimitrenko because of the risks involved.
Patrick McKendry: Joseph Parker could learn lesson in Tyson Fury crisis
That Tyson Fury is in a battle with depression just as tough or maybe tougher than his fight against Wladimir Klitschko which earned him the title of world heavyweight champion a year ago should be a salutary lesson to New Zealander Joseph Parker.
It illustrates perfectly the volatile nature of professional boxing, and the 24-year-old Parker, a humble, charismatic and dedicated athlete, should take note; in this game you can't take anything for granted.
Just as one punch in the ring can change a career, a fighter's financial situation can change drastically in a matter of weeks or less. Fury's mental health issues, which have forced him to pull out of his rematch with Klitschko for the second time, have the potential to push him out of the fight game for good.
If, as a world champion at the age of 28, he can't find the motivation to train now, the road back to the ring will be far tougher if and when he is stripped of his WBA and WBO titles and becomes a risky proposition for promoters.
While his health is obviously his main priority, his failure to get back into the ring with Klitschko could cost him between $10-12 million, according to his uncle and trainer Peter Fury.
As a challenger of Klitschko's on that remarkable night in Germany last November, Fury, who hasn't fought since so has yet to get the big payday that he deserved as champion.
And, after unlocking the seemingly invincible Klitschko's hold on the division with a smart performance over 12 rounds, few would deny he deserved that.
Professional boxing is full of stories of those who failed to take their opportunities for one reason or another.
To challenge for Joshua's title, first Parker must beat Alexander Dimitrenko in Manukau a week on Saturday.
Parker was eight years old when fellow Kiwi-Samoan David Tua fought Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas in 2000. Lewis was far too good that night but Tua, a knockout specialist, turned up in less than ideal physical condition and hardly fired a shot.
Kevin Barry, Tua's trainer and now the main man in Parker's corner, is determined that this story has a different ending. Parker's dedication to constant improvement gives him an advantage, as does the fact that the heavyweight division is so splintered and in a state of flux.
Parker is the mandatory challenger to Anthony Joshua's IBF title - which he will probably fight for in November should he get past Alexander Dimitrenko in Manukau on Saturday - plus he is ranked No1 beneath Fury with the WBO. Deontay Wilder is the WBC champion, so there's another route for Parker should he need or want it.
But while the lessons of Tua's career will remain fresh and relevant due to Barry's experiences, there is nothing like watching significant events in your sport being played out when you are in the middle of it all.
One can only imagine the pressures on boxers as they prepare to get in the ring with so much at stake. Some are clearly better at it than others. Fury is an over-thinker according to his uncle Peter. Muhammad Ali used to sing, dance and tell jokes in his dressing room before fights, and Parker shares the same traits according to his promoter Dean Lonergan.
"Considering the intense environment that he works in - and that is the world of heavyweight boxing - he would be the most relaxed athlete I've ever seen," Lonergan said. "I've seen guys go into dressing rooms before rugby league matches and rugby union matches and want to tear down walls and headbutt them, but Joseph Parker comes out and wants to dance.
"It's quite incredible seeing how relaxed he is, but one thing he's never had is the potential of a world title fight on the line which he has now, and he has to concentrate on Dimitrenko, otherwise all this talk of a title fight goes out the window."
Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn reiterates Joseph Parker as best option for next IBF heavyweight world title defence
Anthony Joshua's promoter has reiterated a preference for Joseph Parker to take the next IBF title shot as the top of world heavyweight scene gets increasingly crowded.
Joshua will defend his belt in Manchester on November 26 with his boss Eddie Hearn set to announce the big Brit's opponent on Tuesday (NZ time), though a delay wouldn't surprise.
The postponement of the Tyson Fury versus Wladimir Klitschko rematch for the WBA and WBO belts has raised possibilities with talk of champion Fury being stripped as his frustrating inactivity is prolonged.
Fury's camp are set to release details of his illness, reported to be mental issues, this week.
Hearn had raised the possibility of a Joshua v Klitschko fight but doesn't believe the dust will settle enough for that to happen in November.
Stalled pay negotiations with Bulgaria's Kubrat Pulev mean that Parker is Hearn's easiest alternative through his mandatory challenger's rights.
Clearing Joshua of the mandatory now allows Hearn to fulfil his Manchester obligation and raise the prospect of a clear 2017 for him to think bigger things, either via Fury or Klitschko.
That's providing Joshua can get past Parker.
"My gut feeling it (Joshua v Klitschko) will happen in spring/summer of next year and we'll fight Joseph Parker on November 26, get the mandatory out the way," Hearn told Boxing News on Monday (NZ time).
"Also some people say well Joseph Parker might be just as tough a fight as Wladimir Klitschko.
"You don't know what he's got left. Klitschko looked awful in his last fight. Was that because Fury was brilliant or is it because he's finished? Both I think. I think he's done. But he's still very good. It's not really the power, the strength, it's just the experience. That's the only worrying thing for me for Joshua in that fight."
Parker, of course, has a significant hurdle in front of him this Saturday in the form of 2.01m Russian Alexander Dimitrenko.
Lose that and all this speculation and title talk flies out the window.
Hearn might be sweating on Parker's Saturday result as much as the Kiwis' management, Duco Events.
They have had ongoing discussions with Hearn though nothing specific about a title fight or an appearance on the undercard against Britain's David Price.
For now, the task is to work away in the background and allow Parker to focus everything on Dimitrenko because of the risks involved.
No chance: Joseph Parker doesn't rate with British bookies
Joseph Parker isn't feeling any love from the British bookies.
Leading British betting agencies Paddy Power and BetVictor are running odds on a potential world heavyweight title fight between New Zealand's Parker and IBF world champion, Englishman Anthony Joshua.
They don't think too highly of Parker, who is rated a huge $8.00 outsider (7/1) to upset Joshua.
Joshua has been installed as a $1.07 favourite (1/14) to retain his IBF world heavyweight title by both agencies, should the fight go ahead.
Joshua's odds for winning are the same as the TAB offered on the All Blacks beating Australia, a team they haven't lost to in New Zealand since 2001, in Wellington last month.
However, the chances of Parker fighting Joshua this year appear to be getting slimmer with Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn making progress in lining up former champion Wladimir Klitschko to face the Brit on November 26.
Klitschko has suddenly become available after the postponement of his WBA and WBO rematch with champion Tyson Fury, who has pulled out as he battles mental health issues.
If the Parker-Joshua fight does not go ahead in 2017 all bets would be void.
Parker fights giant Russian Alexander Dimitrenko in Manukau on Saturday night, needing a win to retain his mandatory rights.
Check out the below interview of Bermaine Stiverne - sparring partner of Parker and Izu, it's just gone live now. He talks about Parker and Izu for a few minutes - says Parker is a very good heavyweight, young, strong and if he was Eddie Hearn he wouldn't want to fight Parker right now, also said Izu hits harder than Wilder. Skip to 20:48.