I just don't see Parker loosing this fight. Yes Dilllian has been improving and he can bang but what department is he better than Jo in. Power, yes. Confidence, yes. Weight, yes. Mongrel, yes. What else is there? Maybe output? Joe beats him in every other department. Dilllian wins if he makes it a war but Parker is to wise for that now. Parker for the late ko or UD. Don't get me wrong it will be a close fight but Parker nabs from being better than Whyte in to many departments.
07-15-2018, 12:21 PM (This post was last modified: 07-15-2018, 12:22 PM by diehard.)
Dillian Whyte's fighting evolution - from knives and guns to gloves
Dillian Whyte sees a fight against Joseph Parker as opening the door to a crack at the big time.
The first time Dillian Whyte was stabbed he saw it as a badge of honour. That happened at the age of 13. It happened at 15 and 16 too. He was shot as well.
Whyte, now 30 and one of the hottest fighters in the heavyweight division, is a classic tale of how boxing turned around someone's life.
He makes Anthony Joshua look something of an angel in terms of his upbringing. And he'll be looking to go one better than Joshua and knock out New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker when they meet in Whyte's backyard at London's O2 Arena on July 29 (NZT).
Dillian Whyte says anger only got him so far in boxing and believes he's a much better technical fighter now.
Coming to Britain from his native Jamaica at the age of 12, Whyte gew up tough in the south London neighbourhood of Brixton.
Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker clash in London in late July.
He mixed with the wrong crowd and trouble inevitably came looking for him as much as he looked for it himself.
His family weren't happy when he chose a violent sport to try to end his violent lifestyle. But a pair of boxing gloves were seen as better than a steel blade or barrel.
"My mum hates the fact that I fight," Whyte told British media as he outlined the back-story to a fighting career that has him poised for a world title shot if he can get past Parker.
Dillian Whyte destroyed Australian Lucas Browne in his last fight at London's O2 Arena in March.
"My sisters hate it too but they understand that boxing gave me a way out. It saved me, it made me someone, it made me the person I am today, mentally and physically.
"I was one of those kids who was not meant to be anything at school, I was either meant to be dead or in prison at this age, to be honest.
"I came here from Jamaica as a kid and didn't go to school really, never had a great education. I was a little bit bad on the street, running around, doing this, doing that and always getting into trouble. I was completely written off so boxing has definitely saved my life.
"I've been stabbed, I've been shot. I wasn't the best kid. I was running around being crazy and excited, and I thought it was cool at the time.
"I thought 'I've been stabbed, I'll show my mates'. I'd lift my top up and say 'look I got done here at the weekend'. But you never realise the risk you were taking in those days."
The people charged with trying to turn Whyte's life around thought the best method would be to get him involved in something that might interest him.
"I got stabbed when I was 13, 16 and 15," he said. "That's actually how I got into fighting. I got into trouble and my youth worker took me to the gym because he saw me always fighting and getting into trouble. Once I started doing it I just fell in love with it.
"For me, boxing is a great sport for any kid that is out of control or who thinks they're a bad boy. Boxing humbles you and teaches you discipline. It teaches you self-control, discipline and self-respect. If you think you're a hard man who can go and stab someone, they will put you in the ring and make you spar someone for one or two rounds and you will realise that this is where it's at."
Boxing was actually a third choice for Whyte.
He was initially drawn into kickboxing and was more than useful. He was crowned the British heavyweight champion, won the European K1 title and finished with a 20-1 record before MMA became fashionable and he tried his hands and feet there, winning his sole fight.
But it was his standup work that stood out and Whyte was persuaded to transfer his handy hands to boxing. His first amateur fight in 2009, at the age of 20, saw him beat Anthony Joshua to ignite a rivalry that still simmers today.
Whyte only became a professional in 2011 and has now fashioned a 23-1 record with his only loss coming to Joshua in late 2015.
He has had seven wins since then and is seen as one of the biggest movers in the division, a fighter whose raw power and aggressive approach have now been complemented by better skills and tactics.
Whyte, who has old school heroes like Dempsey, Sonny Liston, Archie Moore, Lennox Lewis and James Toney, puts it down to hunger.
"Boxing draws you in, you just want more and more. The technical side of it, the mentality side of it, it grows you as a person. That's the difference between boxing and other sports, it's a self-driven sport, you can see yourself going up, climbing and learning."
Whyte has had his troubles in the sport as well. A doping ban in late 2012 saw him lose two years which makes his rapid progress even more remarkable.
He's lived in the shadows of British contemporaries like Joshua and Fury. But now, for the second promotion in a row following his devastating knockout of Australian Lucas Browne in March, finds himself on the billboards as a main act, this time against Parker who returns to the UK looking for a fast way to wipe off his points loss to Joshua that also cost him his WBO belt.
"It means a lot to headline the O2," Whyte said.
"Topping the bills as a star is what I've been working for. Nothing comes easy. Boxing is a hard sport to make a living from and it gets even harder to stay at the top when you get there.
"I'm well aware of that, but I'm a tough man and I don't give up easily.
"I've done it the hard way and battled to get where I am through a lot of setbacks.
"My rage and anger got me to a certain point in the sport and then I had an accident," he said, referring to the doping controversy.
"I'm a realist and an analyst, I took myself away and I realised I had to become more professional and get some good people around me and I made the transition.
"That's what is here now and there's still more to come, but I am getting there.
"You have to be yourself ... if you are and believe in yourself and what you say, you aren't going to do wrong things. You just have to be honest and real, that's all a man can do."
Whyte still looks back at that loss to Joshua with regret. A defensive mistake cost him a fortune, literally, as he suffered a sixth round TKO.
The result saw Joshua win the vacant British heavyweight title. Joshua's next fight was a world title win over Charles Martin and since then he has gone on to be the biggest name in the game.
"Since the AJ loss every fight has been vital because I've been on the comeback trail," Whyte said.
"I was very close to breaking through against AJ and I would've been the man now, so I know what's at stake."
Whyte, who owns the WBC's secondary version of the world title, is desperate to wrap the real thing around his waist. He knows beating Parker will position him well for an opportunity to do just that.
"Winning a world title is something you can never lose. Being heavyweight world champion is the highest honour in sport, it's something I want to say to my kids one day. The money helps of course, no point pretending, but the glory is so important."
Whyte has taken himself away from his family – he has three young kids - for this Parker assignment.
He has set up a training camp in Loughborough on the outskirts of Leicester, a further sign of the seriousness he is approaching this assignment with.
JOSEPH PARKER (NZ and Samoa)
Age: 26
Record: 24-1 (18 KOs)
Height: 1.93cm
Reach: 1.93cm
DILLIAN WHYTE (Jamaica and GB)
Age: 30
Record: 23-1 (17 KOs)
Height: 1.93m
Reach: 1.98m
COMMON OPPONENTS
Lost to Anthony Joshua (GB) – Parker by unanimous points over 12 rounds, Whyte by TKO in round 6.
Beat Brian Minto (GB) - Parker won when Minto threw in towel in round 7, Whyte by 3rd round TKO.
Beat Marcelo Luiz Nascimento (Brazil) - Parker by round 7 TKO, Whyte by round 2 KO
Beat Irineu Beato Costa Junior (Brazil) - Parker by round 4 KO, Whyte won by round 1 KO).
Parker's Trainer: We Want 'Fair Referee' For Dillian Whyte Fight
By Keith Idec
Joseph Parker’s trainer has demanded that the British Boxing Board of Control assign “a fair referee” to his upcoming fight against Dillian Whyte.
New Zealand’s Parker (24-1, 18 KOs) and London’s Whyte (23-1, 17 KOs) are scheduled to meet in a 12-round heavyweight fight July 28 at O2 Arena in London.
Kevin Barry, Parker’s trainer, made it clear upon their arrival Tuesday in the United Kingdom that Parker’s team is still displeased with how Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone officiated Parker’s 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Anthony Joshua on March 31 in Cardiff, Wales.
Parker and his handlers feel Quartarone took a heavy-handed approach to that heavyweight title unification fight and didn’t allow Parker to work inside against England’s Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs).
“All we want is, we want a fair referee,” Barry told Sky Sports on Tuesday. “We want one of the best referees that BBBofC can offer. I think we’ve been pretty hard done by in our first two previous fights here in the UK by the referee. So this time I would like to think they will give us a classy guy. Someone who won’t be an interference for the fight, someone who will let the fight go. I tell you what – there are plenty of good British referees. Let’s choose one of them.”
London’s Marcus McDonnell was the referee for Parker’s WBO title defense against England’s Hughie Fury. Parker defeated Fury (21-1, 11 KOs) by majority decision September 23 in Manchester.
Robert Smith, the general secretary for the British Boxing Board of Control, informed Sky Sports that the referee and judges have not yet been assigned to the Parker-Whyte fight.
“We’re just dealing with it now,” Smith said. “We’re just finalizing all the officials now.”
The 26-year-old Parker downplayed this issue Tuesday, but it’s obviously a cause for concern for the former WBO champion and his team.
“I believe my team will take care of it,” Parker said. “I always trust my team and I think from the last fight, and the experience we had with that, they will definitely correct it.”
USER COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK (REGISTER FOR FREE TO COMMENT)
Comment by u122564 on 07-17-2018
[QUOTE=Kezzer;18946228]To be fair if you listen to interview he was questioned specifically on it. They answered the question , rather than being t up themselves. What they did say was they were happy for a British referee, they just wanted…
Comment by pollywog on 07-17-2018
[QUOTE=knockoutkid;18945912]''fair british referee'' that's an oxymoron. lolz. I demand joseph parker be warned for punching with the inside of the glove when he throws that slapping left hook. Parker needs to remember he is not the A side here, no…
Comment by pollywog on 07-17-2018
[QUOTE=Vinnykin;18945829]They know if they criticise the ref and judges before a fight it increases the chances of the judges afraid to look bias. Parker's team are not confident here and they weren't confident of beating Hughie or Joshua either. He…
Comment by Kezzer on 07-17-2018
To be fair if you listen to interview he was questioned specifically on it. They answered the question , rather than being t up themselves. What they did say was they were happy for a British referee, they just wanted…
Comment by EnglishOxide on 07-17-2018
It's hard to like Parker with the way his team are always talking about officials. Just stfu
Pressure on Joseph Parker to put on a show for British public, says Kevin Barry
Marvin France
Joseph Parker is looking to bounce back from his first professional defeat in London next week.
Trainer Kevin Barry admits Joseph Parker not only needs to beat Dillian Whyte in London next week, he needs to do it in style if he is to continue to appeal to the lucrative British market.
Parker and his team have invested heavily in building the Kiwi heavyweight's profile in the UK, with the showdown against Whyte at the The O2 Arena his third-consecutive fight up north.
While Parker generated plenty of goodwill from the British public and media after becoming the first man to take Anthony Joshua the distance in April, Barry felt many expected more from the 26-year-old as he surrendered the WBO crown with a unanimous points defeat.
Kevin Barry expects a busier Joseph Parker against Dillian Whyte.
Much of that was down to Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone's reluctance to allow the pair to engage in close quarters.
But having also produced a "lacklustre" win over Hughie Fury in his UK debut last year, Barry knows the pressure is on Parker to put on a show to keep the British onside.
Kevin Barry says the experience against Anthony Joshua has developed Joseph Parker into a more mature boxer.
"We have to be entertaining in this fight for our commercial viability moving forward," Barry told Stuff ahead of their arrival in London this week.
"I need the Joseph Parker who made his reputation all the way to a world title throwing fast combinations, not a guy fighting off the back foot jabbing and moving.
"I need a guy who is going to let his hands go that is very, very exciting to watch. That is they guy we need to be on display so that the fans say we want to see more of Joseph Parker."
Parker, whose last four fights have been decided by the judges, has not recorded a knockout since his third-round stoppage of Alexander Dimitrenko in October 2016.
Whyte has an aggressive style and will take the fight to the Kiwi, which Barry plans to use to their advantage.
But he has promised a much busier Parker than we have seen in recent performances.
"This time we need to see all the tools being on display and that is how we trained," Barry said.
"There is going to be a lot more punches thrown, there is going to be a lot more intensity.
"[Whyte] is a fighter who loves to engage, he doesn't mind taking two to give three. He's made his reputation fighting that style and we hope to use that particular style to be the unravelling of him."
Parker (24-1) and Whyte (23-1) both suffered their only professional defeats to Joshua and the winner will position themselves for a rematch against the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion.
It's a dangerous match-up for both men but Barry praised Parker for jumping straight back into the deep end against Whyte, who is ranked first in the WBC and second in the WBO.
"He knows that this is our redemption fight.
"It would have been so easy for us as a team to take a couple of easy fights in our own time, get a couple of wins behind Joe's name and then have another go to build him up in the rankings.
"But Joe is the leader of our team and he made it very clear to us after the Joshua fight that he doesn't want any gimme fights.
"He wants to fight the biggest names and the biggest challenges that are out there and Whyte definitely falls into that category."
Parker is stepping into somewhat of the unknown against Whyte as he looks to bounce back from his first defeat as a professional.
However, Barry believes the whole Joshua experience, from the extensive promotional work to the fight itself in front of 80,000 people in Cardiff, has only helped him grow.
With a much shorter preparation time of seven weeks for this bout, he challenged Parker to make every training session count.
And Barry has been encouraged with what he has seen.
"His body looks tremendous and we have done more rounds in four weeks than we've ever done before," Barry said. "We have stepped up the strength and conditioning work and we have got some very good results with that.
"All in all, I'm seeing a more mature Joseph Parker than the fighter who stepped into a ring with Anthony Joshua."
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That was quite good. I’ve gotta agree with Whyte though Parker did seem content with just going the distance and didn’t even seem that bothered about losing to AJ. Parker really needs to perform here and after watching that I get the feeling he’s really going to fire up and let his hands go....I could be wrong though but I just have the feeling.
