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I really want Parker to fight Dillian Whyte. Great fight that probably won't go the distance

Friends of Kiwi Kevin Barry victims of Las Vegas gunman

Kevin Barry has spoken of his shock at the Las Vegas mass shooting which has affected family friends, several of whom have been shot.

New Zealander Barry, the trainer of Kiwi heavyweight boxer and WBO world champion Joseph Parker, has lived with his family in Las Vegas for 14 years.

Barry, a silver medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, told Radio Sport's Mark Watson that a friend of a friend of his son Taylor had been shot dead and that a good friend of his wife Tanya had been shot in the chest along with her daughter, who had been wounded in an arm.

"My immediate network is safe and sound but when you've got 59 people dead and 527 in hospital injured, you know that you're going to know some people and my wife woke up this morning with a lady friend of hers and her daughter ... were both shot last night - the mother in the chest and the daughter in the arm," Barry told Watson. "Both are alive but they've had a rough time."

Barry travelled back to Las Vegas immediately after Parker's recent victory over Hughie Fury in Manchester while 25-year-old Parker travelled home to Auckland for a break.

Parker lives with the Barrys in a gated suburban community in Las Vegas about 20 minutes' drive from The Strip where the shooting occurred.

Barry added: "It has touched us in a very real way. When you look at the people who have been injured in this catastrophic event, I think there are going to be a lot more people that we know once the names come out.

"I got up this morning and there were a lot of concerned messages from New Zealand and different parts of America. I turned the television on and sat there almost in shock. I sat there with a cup of coffee - I couldn't eat my breakfast. It made me sick. The last time I felt like that was in 9-11.

"It's times like this that you have to appreciate life and appreciate that everything can change very quickly."

The shooting happened at a concert near the Mandalay Bay Casino and Barry said he knew the area well.

"The Mandalay Bay and the Bellagio are my two favourite casinos here in Las Vegas," he said. "People may remember when David Tua fought Lennox Lewis back in November 2000, that it was at the Mandalay Bay. It has always been a casino that I have had fond memories of.

"I've walked up and down that area many times in the 14 years we've lived here."

Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn says Joseph Parker tough to promote in UK

WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker gained few fans in the UK with his laboured win over Hughie Fury.

British boxing kingpin Eddie Hearn believes Joseph Parker will be a hard sell in the UK until the Kiwi heavyweight lifts his performance levels.

Hearn, promoter of dominant heavyweight Anthony Joshua and wannabe heavyweight Tony Bellew, described Parker's WBO title defence against Hughie Fury as "very poor".

Hearn felt it followed a worrying trend for Parker, describing his previous two wins against Razvan Cojanu and Andy Ruiz as similarly disappointing with all three fights being viewed by British audiences.

British promoter Eddie Hearn believes having his prized fighter Anthony Joshua line out against Joseph Parker is seen as a mismatch in the UK at the moment.

Parker is hoping to work his way towards a unification fight with Joshua in what could be a massive pay day. But Hearn says the 25-year-old New Zealander isn't helping himself.

"Now people think Joshua against Parker is a mis-match," Hearn told Seconds Out Boxing.

"I don't necessarily agree with that. Stylistically it's a good fight and he's got a belt.

"But he's very difficult to promote (in the UK)."

Hearn felt Parker did just enough to beat Fury in what he described as a "very, very poor heavyweight fight" that didn't reflect well on the Kiwi.

"It was a very poor performance from Joseph Parker, it was a very poor performance from Joseph Parker against Cojanu, it was a poor performance against Andy Ruiz.

"And you stat looking at the good performances and saying, 'well actually, is he any good?'.

"I think he is, but we're not seeing it.

Hearn confirmed Parker's laboured majority points win over Fury had cost him an early chance to fight Bellew.

"We were looking at the Bellew fight for Parker but the value diminished because of the Hughie Fury performance and because of his back-to-back-to-back poor performances. It wasn't a great night for Joseph Parker."

Bellew will now fight a lucrative rematch with David Haye in London in December.

The theory is Parker will fight the winner of that in the first quarter of next year and Parker's backers at Duco Events hope a victory there would lead to a unification fight with Joshua.

Parker needs to make a statement in his next fight in December against a yet-to-be-named opponent and would then really need to produce a banger in Britain to convince his doubters there.

Hearn also believed there was a future for Fury at the top level despite concerns over his approach against Parker where he spent most of the night on the run and trying to fight off the back foot, offering little on attack.

"I don't think that Hughie fought the wrong fight, I'm not sure he would have got as close fighting another fight (style)," Hearn reasoned.

"I think the game-plan against Parker was spot-on, they just didn't throw enough punches, they didn't let the right hand go enough.

"Fury impressed me in the fight because I thought he would get stopped. But he didn't take enough chances.

"Coming off that fight when you box that way and don't win, you have to deal with it as a stinker.

"Hughie can compete at a top level but he needs to engage his style more."

- Stuff

Eddie is spot on with his comments on Joe and Hughie.  This guy is a promoter who can objectively assess a fighter and their worth and obviously has some boxing nous.  

V.      

Sad comments, but true. Unless Parker can find some power, ring generalship, defensive tactics, and accuracy, he's a dead man walking. I can't believe he's gotten this far. I think he DOES have talent, can take a punch, speed, but he and KB have some serious soul searching to do. He's just not improving...

Eddie's comments are fair.

But one good thing is that Joe can now choose his next opponents. Makes a difference.

(10-06-2017, 02:15 PM)Kiwi Wrote: [ -> ]Eddie's comments are fair.

But one good thing is that Joe can now choose his next opponents. Makes a difference.

Huge difference, Kiwi. I think he's an odds on favourite to beat Fujimoto, Browne, Bellew. He'll struggle with Whyte, but if he's improved his defense, he can beat him. Wilder and AJ are too big and strong, and talented for him. Beat those three/four above, and I'll change my opinion.

Eddie summed it up well. Parker got the job done in a bad fight. But guaranteed Hearn wouldn't have made the comments about his value being diminished and him being hard to promote if Higgins hadn't slagged him off in the press conference. That's a backhanded comment and a power play from Hearn. He'll try and fuck Higgins in any negotiations going forwards. Siding with the Fury's by bitching about the biggest promoter in the UK was a stupid move. Hearn holds grudges. Barry McGuigan was always digging at Hearn and Hearn fucked him by making him bid huge amounts for the Davis-Taylor fight. Then Hearn did zero promotion of the fight and now McGuigan is in trouble financially and lost his best fighter Frampton.

I remember davis in the press conference actually anti promoting his own fight. "No beef here" haha

Joe can make a lot of money taking his belt on tour to various places. Also he will likely face Christian Hammer in the UK soon (Mandatory)

He does not need Joshua or Hearn until the timing is right

2 million here, 2 million there. No problem..