01-23-2023, 01:03 PM
The big questions for Joseph Parker after his lacklustre win over Jack Massey
Sam Wilson
Joseph Parker beats Jack Massey on points
ANALYSIS: Joseph Parker got his hand raised but failed to deliver the statement he promised against Jack Massey in Manchester.
The Kiwi heavyweight was taken the 10-round distance by a game Massey (20-2, 11 KOs), who overcame a difficult start to frustrate Parker and even steal some rounds down the stretch.
It was not the result or performance that Parker (31-3, 21 KOs) and his team would have wanted against a career cruiserweight who was giving up 14kg in weight and had never operated at the elite level.
But after suffering a brutal knockout loss against Joe Joyce in his previous outing, Parker will no doubt just be relieved to return to the win column, setting himself up for bigger challenges ahead. Here are five big questions to emerge from what was another frustrating night for the former WBO champion.
Did Parker take Massey too lightly?
In the buildup, Parker had said all the right things about not underestimating Massey and treating him as though he was a world champion.
However, actions speak much louder than words and Parker's performance at Manchester Arena screamed of complacency.
He started like a train, backing Massey up from the opening bell and peppering the Brit with left hands as he searched for an early finish.
Joseph Parker found Jack Massey a slippery customer as he struggled to pin the Englishman down.
But once Massey survived the early storm, he was able to tie up Parker with alarming regularity and began to land some scoring shots of his own, chiefly a snappy jab and a left to the body.
Parker surely anticipated that Massey would get on his bike and attempt to spoil, yet had no clear plan to cut off the ring to stop the home favourite from pivoting out of danger.
That suggested he hadn't prepared properly or was expecting to overwhelm his much smaller opponent. For the first five rounds he mostly did, only for Massey to grow in confidence and make the second half more competitive - uncomfortably so for Parker and his team.
Joseph Parker was unable to hurt Jack Massey on his way to a comfortable decision win in Manchester.
Is Parker's lack of knockout power a concern?
In a word, yes. Despite carrying a huge weight advantage, Parker was unable to put Massey down, let alone score the knockout that most pundits predicted. Indeed, the Englishman absorbed his big shots without too much trouble and never looked in any serious danger of being stopped.
The last of Parker's 21 knockouts came way back in February 2020, when he dispatched of Shawndell Winters – another cruiserweight – with a vicious flurry in the fifth round.
He has fought five times since and despite putting Derek Chisora down three times in their rematch, he couldn't find the finishing blow. Joyce also shrugged off some of Parker's heavy artillery with worrying ease.
That will be a concern for Parker and his trainer Andy Lee going forward, as every heavyweight worth their salt needs to carry knockout power in their fists, or at least enough pop to earn their rivals’ respect.
Joseph Parker had had Andy Lee in his corner for his last four fights, featuring three wins and one loss.
Has he improved under Lee's tutelage?
It's becoming difficult to make that case after another listless display. The Irishman was rightly given a free pass for Parker's scratchy split decision win over Chisora in May 2021 having not had the benefit of a full training camp together.
He then oversaw one of Parker's career-best performances in the immediate rematch, suggesting he was the man to take the Kiwi to the next level.
But doubts were raised over the tactics used against Joyce, when Parker came in at a career-high 115.84kg and opted to stand and trade rather than utilise his speed and movement, resulting in a first ever knockout defeat.
And this insipid showing against Massey will have done little to assuage the doubters as Parker seemed to run out of ideas late in the fight and had no obvious gameplan.
Lee blamed Massey's negative, spoiling tactics for making Parker look bad but admitted he needed to be "sharper with everything". The same could be said of Lee if their once promising partnership is going to be a success.
Jack Massey enjoyed some success against Joseph Parker in the second half of their 10-round fight.
Can Parker still trouble the best heavyweights?
On this evidence, you'd have to say no. But then Parker has had a tendency throughout his 11-year career to fight to the level of the opponent in front of him.
For instance, he was similarly uninspiring against Ravzan Cojanu and Alex Leapai yet raised his game when in with big names such as Andy Ruiz Jr and Dillian Whyte.
Parker had been expected to take care of Massey in short order and may have struggled to motivate himself for what was a stay-busy fight on the undercard of a stacked show.
When you're used to headlining shows and fighting for titles, it can be a bit of a comedown to find yourself fighting in a half-full arena.
But by the same token, if Parker wants to return to the top of the bill he needs to start delivering excitement in the ring and putting away overmatched opponents.
His laboured points victory over Massey was greeted with jeers by the crowd and it's up to him to show that he still has what it takes to compete against the division's best.
He was competitive against Joyce five months ago before succumbing in the 11th and at 31 has a few big nights left in him.
Frazer Clarke won on the undercard and is keen on a fight with his Boxxer stablemate Joseph Parker.
Who should he fight next?
There are plenty of appealing options out there for Parker, including lucrative rematches with Ruiz Jr, Joshua and Whyte.
But those are unlikely to come next as Ruiz Jr has been strongly linked with Deontay Wilder, while Whyte is thought to be lining up his own sequel with Joshua later this year.
That leaves the likes of American Michael Hunter (20-1-2, 14 KOs) and Australian Demsey McKean (22-0, 14 KOs) as potential foes, while Parker's stablemate Frazer Clarke has also thrown his hat in the ring.
A fight with Clarke, an Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, would be easy to make but the risk might outweigh the reward at this stage of his career.
Sam Wilson
Joseph Parker beats Jack Massey on points
ANALYSIS: Joseph Parker got his hand raised but failed to deliver the statement he promised against Jack Massey in Manchester.
The Kiwi heavyweight was taken the 10-round distance by a game Massey (20-2, 11 KOs), who overcame a difficult start to frustrate Parker and even steal some rounds down the stretch.
It was not the result or performance that Parker (31-3, 21 KOs) and his team would have wanted against a career cruiserweight who was giving up 14kg in weight and had never operated at the elite level.
But after suffering a brutal knockout loss against Joe Joyce in his previous outing, Parker will no doubt just be relieved to return to the win column, setting himself up for bigger challenges ahead. Here are five big questions to emerge from what was another frustrating night for the former WBO champion.
Did Parker take Massey too lightly?
In the buildup, Parker had said all the right things about not underestimating Massey and treating him as though he was a world champion.
However, actions speak much louder than words and Parker's performance at Manchester Arena screamed of complacency.
He started like a train, backing Massey up from the opening bell and peppering the Brit with left hands as he searched for an early finish.
Joseph Parker found Jack Massey a slippery customer as he struggled to pin the Englishman down.
But once Massey survived the early storm, he was able to tie up Parker with alarming regularity and began to land some scoring shots of his own, chiefly a snappy jab and a left to the body.
Parker surely anticipated that Massey would get on his bike and attempt to spoil, yet had no clear plan to cut off the ring to stop the home favourite from pivoting out of danger.
That suggested he hadn't prepared properly or was expecting to overwhelm his much smaller opponent. For the first five rounds he mostly did, only for Massey to grow in confidence and make the second half more competitive - uncomfortably so for Parker and his team.
Joseph Parker was unable to hurt Jack Massey on his way to a comfortable decision win in Manchester.
Is Parker's lack of knockout power a concern?
In a word, yes. Despite carrying a huge weight advantage, Parker was unable to put Massey down, let alone score the knockout that most pundits predicted. Indeed, the Englishman absorbed his big shots without too much trouble and never looked in any serious danger of being stopped.
The last of Parker's 21 knockouts came way back in February 2020, when he dispatched of Shawndell Winters – another cruiserweight – with a vicious flurry in the fifth round.
He has fought five times since and despite putting Derek Chisora down three times in their rematch, he couldn't find the finishing blow. Joyce also shrugged off some of Parker's heavy artillery with worrying ease.
That will be a concern for Parker and his trainer Andy Lee going forward, as every heavyweight worth their salt needs to carry knockout power in their fists, or at least enough pop to earn their rivals’ respect.
Joseph Parker had had Andy Lee in his corner for his last four fights, featuring three wins and one loss.
Has he improved under Lee's tutelage?
It's becoming difficult to make that case after another listless display. The Irishman was rightly given a free pass for Parker's scratchy split decision win over Chisora in May 2021 having not had the benefit of a full training camp together.
He then oversaw one of Parker's career-best performances in the immediate rematch, suggesting he was the man to take the Kiwi to the next level.
But doubts were raised over the tactics used against Joyce, when Parker came in at a career-high 115.84kg and opted to stand and trade rather than utilise his speed and movement, resulting in a first ever knockout defeat.
And this insipid showing against Massey will have done little to assuage the doubters as Parker seemed to run out of ideas late in the fight and had no obvious gameplan.
Lee blamed Massey's negative, spoiling tactics for making Parker look bad but admitted he needed to be "sharper with everything". The same could be said of Lee if their once promising partnership is going to be a success.
Jack Massey enjoyed some success against Joseph Parker in the second half of their 10-round fight.
Can Parker still trouble the best heavyweights?
On this evidence, you'd have to say no. But then Parker has had a tendency throughout his 11-year career to fight to the level of the opponent in front of him.
For instance, he was similarly uninspiring against Ravzan Cojanu and Alex Leapai yet raised his game when in with big names such as Andy Ruiz Jr and Dillian Whyte.
Parker had been expected to take care of Massey in short order and may have struggled to motivate himself for what was a stay-busy fight on the undercard of a stacked show.
When you're used to headlining shows and fighting for titles, it can be a bit of a comedown to find yourself fighting in a half-full arena.
But by the same token, if Parker wants to return to the top of the bill he needs to start delivering excitement in the ring and putting away overmatched opponents.
His laboured points victory over Massey was greeted with jeers by the crowd and it's up to him to show that he still has what it takes to compete against the division's best.
He was competitive against Joyce five months ago before succumbing in the 11th and at 31 has a few big nights left in him.
Frazer Clarke won on the undercard and is keen on a fight with his Boxxer stablemate Joseph Parker.
Who should he fight next?
There are plenty of appealing options out there for Parker, including lucrative rematches with Ruiz Jr, Joshua and Whyte.
But those are unlikely to come next as Ruiz Jr has been strongly linked with Deontay Wilder, while Whyte is thought to be lining up his own sequel with Joshua later this year.
That leaves the likes of American Michael Hunter (20-1-2, 14 KOs) and Australian Demsey McKean (22-0, 14 KOs) as potential foes, while Parker's stablemate Frazer Clarke has also thrown his hat in the ring.
A fight with Clarke, an Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, would be easy to make but the risk might outweigh the reward at this stage of his career.