05-21-2023, 09:35 PM
oseph Parker plans to keep busy to boost title ambitions
Sam Wilson
05:00, May 21 2023
Joseph Parker has his eyes on the prize as he looks to work his way back into world title contention.
Commonwealth heavyweight title fight: Joseph Parker v Faiga 'Django' Opelu. Where: Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne. When: Wednesday, May 24, approx 10pm NZT. Coverage: Live on Sky Arena and Sky Sport Now, live updates on Stuff
Joseph Parker believes maintaining a busy schedule is key to raising his dwindling heavyweight stocks as he prepares for his second fight of the year in Melbourne on Wednesday night.
Former WBO champion Parker (31-3, 21 KOs) has seen his standing in the division take a hit in recent times after a knockout defeat to Joe Joyce last year was followed by a workmanlike decision over the unheralded Jack Massey in January.
So he enters his bout with fellow Samoan Faiga 'Django' Opelu (15-3-2, 11 KOs) at Margaret Court Arena knowing that anything other than victory would all but extinguish his hopes of making another run at a world title.
Due to his experience and pedigree, Parker is a short-priced favourite against the 29-year-old Opelu (priced at $1.08 at the TAB), an Australia-based slugger who has been stopped twice in his three losses and is ranked 57th in the world by BoxRec (Parker is 11th).
But the Aucklander said he won't be making the mistake of taking his opponent lightly as he looks to impress in his first fight Down Under and build some much-needed momentum heading into the second half of 2023.
“I've got the experience, and on paper it's one of those fights that everyone thinks is an easy fight. [But] no fight is an easy fight and I haven't underestimated Django one bit. I'm taking this fight really seriously,” Parker said.
“He fought three guys that I know. Lucas Browne [a seventh round KO loss], [Justis] Huni, he fought Hemi [Ahio] and got an upset win.
“Django is one of those fighters that comes to fight, doesn't shy away from a challenge and is not afraid to mix it up in there. He has made me train hard, because I do want to perform well.”
Opelu's shock victory over Ahio – the New Zealander’s first pro defeat – showed he can be dangerous and with Parker's chin no longer infallible after being dented by Joyce, the heavy-handed underdog will fancy his chances of scoring another upset.
That's why Parker has left no stone unturned during his training camp, spending three weeks in Ireland with Andy Lee, plus a week in Morecambe before completing his preparations in Australia.
Lee is still in Dublin and planned to be in rising welterweight Paddy Donovan's corner on Saturday on the Katie Taylor v Chantelle Cameron undercard before flying out to Melbourne.
It's a far from ideal situation, but with Parker keen to stay active and finding opportunities scarce in Britain, his manager David Higgins struck a deal with Australian promotional upstarts No Limit Boxing for a bout in which the Commonwealth heavyweight title will be at stake.
“The more fights you have locked in, the more you are able to stay active, the better the momentum is,” argued Parker, who accepted the challenge from Opelu because it was the “only fight on the horizon”.
“We were looking at [Daniel] Dubois, but that all came down to Tyson [Fury] fighting [Oleksandr] Usyk, and that fight was kind of waiting on that.
“And then there was Michael Hunter, but we were looking for a promoter to put it on. So we were just like, get any fight that we can to keep the momentum going. I'm grateful that 'Django' put up his hand and wanted the fight.”
Parker is determined not to find himself in a situation like last year, when injuries and promotional wrangles restricted him to just the one outing, a WBO world title eliminator against Joyce.
Joseph Parker was unable to land a knockout blow on Jack Massey, labouring to a decision victory.
That meant he felt pressured to go through with the contest despite falling sick around 10 days out from fight night.
“One fight a year isn't good enough, like the one I had with Joe Joyce. I was a little bit ill for that fight,” Parker admitted.
“You can't have regrets, but the only thing I would have loved to change is I would have delayed that fight because I wasn't well. It would have been nice to fight him at 100% instead of fighting him at like 50%.”
Parker raised eyebrows when he came in at a career-high 115.84kg against Joyce, which seemed to negate his speed advantage and enabled the giant Brit to hunt him down.
But he revealed that adding all that extra bulk was not part of his strategy and was simply a result of his illness.
“Truth is the weight was good for the camp, and then the last week-and-a-half when I got sick, it was hard for me to train as I had no energy,” Parker said.
“It's one of those things where you are eating the same but you're not training. We expected things would go our way, but after one or two rounds, I was gassed.
“That fight, I had nothing to give. I'm not taking anything away from Joe Joyce, he is one tough heavyweight. But I would like to try and fight him again as I know within myself what I can do when I'm at 100%.”
Joyce has a rematch of his own to contend with first after being stopped by China's Zhilei Zhang last month. Besides, Parker must take care of business against Opelu before he can start thinking about fights of that magnitude.
A brave Joseph Parker went down fighting in an 11th round knockout loss to Joe Joyce in Manchester.
His laboured points victory over Massey did little to assuage the growing number of doubters, yet Parker is adamant he can return to the summit of boxing's glamour division.
He admitted he had “overtrained” for Massey and had trouble sleeping during camp, which affected his performance.
“Not everyone can see what happens behind the scenes, in the camps and training when you can't sleep. You give it your best on the day, and you're judged by that on the day," Parker said, giving himself five out of 10 for his efforts.
“But it wasn't my best, I know what I can do and I know what my best looks like, and that wasn't it.
“I'm in great condition for this fight. Physically, mentally, I'm fit. I have no aches or pains, I'm not sick, have no injuries. I’m happy, I’m excited and looking forward to putting on the best show that I can put on.
“I want to prove to myself that I still have what it takes to do well in boxing.”
Should he get past Opelu as expected, Parker plans to fight twice more this year as he looks to get himself back into the title mix in a division where Usyk (IBF, WBA and WBO) and his good friend Fury (WBC) hold all the marbles.
Now 31, he only wants to box for a couple more years so he can leave the sport with all his faculties intact. The fate of his former amateur team-mate David Light – who suffered a mild stroke in the wake of his world title loss to Lawrence Okolie – brought the dangers of the fight game into sharp focus.
“A couple more years, then call it a day. I want to give it my best in boxing for the next few years,” said Parker, who has messaged Light his support as he recovers in hospital.
“It's about knowing when to stop. You might end up like one of those fighters of the past who can't really talk because they've been punched too many times.
“I don't want to be one of those fighters.”
Sam Wilson
05:00, May 21 2023
Joseph Parker has his eyes on the prize as he looks to work his way back into world title contention.
Commonwealth heavyweight title fight: Joseph Parker v Faiga 'Django' Opelu. Where: Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne. When: Wednesday, May 24, approx 10pm NZT. Coverage: Live on Sky Arena and Sky Sport Now, live updates on Stuff
Joseph Parker believes maintaining a busy schedule is key to raising his dwindling heavyweight stocks as he prepares for his second fight of the year in Melbourne on Wednesday night.
Former WBO champion Parker (31-3, 21 KOs) has seen his standing in the division take a hit in recent times after a knockout defeat to Joe Joyce last year was followed by a workmanlike decision over the unheralded Jack Massey in January.
So he enters his bout with fellow Samoan Faiga 'Django' Opelu (15-3-2, 11 KOs) at Margaret Court Arena knowing that anything other than victory would all but extinguish his hopes of making another run at a world title.
Due to his experience and pedigree, Parker is a short-priced favourite against the 29-year-old Opelu (priced at $1.08 at the TAB), an Australia-based slugger who has been stopped twice in his three losses and is ranked 57th in the world by BoxRec (Parker is 11th).
But the Aucklander said he won't be making the mistake of taking his opponent lightly as he looks to impress in his first fight Down Under and build some much-needed momentum heading into the second half of 2023.
“I've got the experience, and on paper it's one of those fights that everyone thinks is an easy fight. [But] no fight is an easy fight and I haven't underestimated Django one bit. I'm taking this fight really seriously,” Parker said.
“He fought three guys that I know. Lucas Browne [a seventh round KO loss], [Justis] Huni, he fought Hemi [Ahio] and got an upset win.
“Django is one of those fighters that comes to fight, doesn't shy away from a challenge and is not afraid to mix it up in there. He has made me train hard, because I do want to perform well.”
Opelu's shock victory over Ahio – the New Zealander’s first pro defeat – showed he can be dangerous and with Parker's chin no longer infallible after being dented by Joyce, the heavy-handed underdog will fancy his chances of scoring another upset.
That's why Parker has left no stone unturned during his training camp, spending three weeks in Ireland with Andy Lee, plus a week in Morecambe before completing his preparations in Australia.
Lee is still in Dublin and planned to be in rising welterweight Paddy Donovan's corner on Saturday on the Katie Taylor v Chantelle Cameron undercard before flying out to Melbourne.
It's a far from ideal situation, but with Parker keen to stay active and finding opportunities scarce in Britain, his manager David Higgins struck a deal with Australian promotional upstarts No Limit Boxing for a bout in which the Commonwealth heavyweight title will be at stake.
“The more fights you have locked in, the more you are able to stay active, the better the momentum is,” argued Parker, who accepted the challenge from Opelu because it was the “only fight on the horizon”.
“We were looking at [Daniel] Dubois, but that all came down to Tyson [Fury] fighting [Oleksandr] Usyk, and that fight was kind of waiting on that.
“And then there was Michael Hunter, but we were looking for a promoter to put it on. So we were just like, get any fight that we can to keep the momentum going. I'm grateful that 'Django' put up his hand and wanted the fight.”
Parker is determined not to find himself in a situation like last year, when injuries and promotional wrangles restricted him to just the one outing, a WBO world title eliminator against Joyce.
Joseph Parker was unable to land a knockout blow on Jack Massey, labouring to a decision victory.
That meant he felt pressured to go through with the contest despite falling sick around 10 days out from fight night.
“One fight a year isn't good enough, like the one I had with Joe Joyce. I was a little bit ill for that fight,” Parker admitted.
“You can't have regrets, but the only thing I would have loved to change is I would have delayed that fight because I wasn't well. It would have been nice to fight him at 100% instead of fighting him at like 50%.”
Parker raised eyebrows when he came in at a career-high 115.84kg against Joyce, which seemed to negate his speed advantage and enabled the giant Brit to hunt him down.
But he revealed that adding all that extra bulk was not part of his strategy and was simply a result of his illness.
“Truth is the weight was good for the camp, and then the last week-and-a-half when I got sick, it was hard for me to train as I had no energy,” Parker said.
“It's one of those things where you are eating the same but you're not training. We expected things would go our way, but after one or two rounds, I was gassed.
“That fight, I had nothing to give. I'm not taking anything away from Joe Joyce, he is one tough heavyweight. But I would like to try and fight him again as I know within myself what I can do when I'm at 100%.”
Joyce has a rematch of his own to contend with first after being stopped by China's Zhilei Zhang last month. Besides, Parker must take care of business against Opelu before he can start thinking about fights of that magnitude.
A brave Joseph Parker went down fighting in an 11th round knockout loss to Joe Joyce in Manchester.
His laboured points victory over Massey did little to assuage the growing number of doubters, yet Parker is adamant he can return to the summit of boxing's glamour division.
He admitted he had “overtrained” for Massey and had trouble sleeping during camp, which affected his performance.
“Not everyone can see what happens behind the scenes, in the camps and training when you can't sleep. You give it your best on the day, and you're judged by that on the day," Parker said, giving himself five out of 10 for his efforts.
“But it wasn't my best, I know what I can do and I know what my best looks like, and that wasn't it.
“I'm in great condition for this fight. Physically, mentally, I'm fit. I have no aches or pains, I'm not sick, have no injuries. I’m happy, I’m excited and looking forward to putting on the best show that I can put on.
“I want to prove to myself that I still have what it takes to do well in boxing.”
Should he get past Opelu as expected, Parker plans to fight twice more this year as he looks to get himself back into the title mix in a division where Usyk (IBF, WBA and WBO) and his good friend Fury (WBC) hold all the marbles.
Now 31, he only wants to box for a couple more years so he can leave the sport with all his faculties intact. The fate of his former amateur team-mate David Light – who suffered a mild stroke in the wake of his world title loss to Lawrence Okolie – brought the dangers of the fight game into sharp focus.
“A couple more years, then call it a day. I want to give it my best in boxing for the next few years,” said Parker, who has messaged Light his support as he recovers in hospital.
“It's about knowing when to stop. You might end up like one of those fighters of the past who can't really talk because they've been punched too many times.
“I don't want to be one of those fighters.”