Parker vs Whyte: Rolling The Dice
There has been much debate on social media about this weekend’s big heavyweight fight between Joseph Parker and Dillian Whyte. The debate is around should the fight be on PPV, Sky Sports in the UK have made this another Box Office event and all the criticism is aimed at the perceived poor undercard. But putting all the criticism around the supposed weakness of the card and the PPV justification what surely isn’t up for debate is that Parker vs Whyte is a heavyweight fight of real importance with genuine title implications.
The winner of the fight could very well find himself being in the opposite corner to Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in April next year if Joshua gets past Alexander Povetkin in September. Deontay Wilder is, of course, the preferred option but with the negotiations so far proving problematic Parker or Whyte could find themselves in pole position should a deal with Wilder not get done for April.
Parker (24-1) the former WBO heavyweight champion is coming off the loss to Joshua in March, while Parker was the first fighter to take Joshua the distance I feel Parker and his team have regrets that they didn’t go for it a little more. Joshua boxed a safe fight, being effective rather than explosive, and I got the feeling watching it live that Joshua was in his comfort zone, he wasn’t really being pushed as much as he could have been by Parker.
Speaking on the latest The Gloves Are Off, Parker knows where he went wrong against Joshua:
“I was too cautious. I didn’t throw enough punches and didn’t put him under enough pressure. But I gained experience. In this fight [against Whyte], I can put on a display.
Like Parker, Whyte (23-1) has also suffered defeat at the hands of Joshua, Whyte suffered his only defeat so far in 2015 but only after giving his old amateur rival a serious scare. Whyte lost but badly rocked Joshua early on in the fight before the future heavyweight champion recovered and finished Whyte to reverse the amateur defeat he suffered at the hands of Whyte.
Parker will know that the Whyte he will face is a much improved and a much more dedicated fighter than the one who lost to Joshua 3 years ago. But despite the big win last time out for Whyte against Lucas Browne there are still doubts about how good he really is. As good as he looked against Browne, his opponent was a massive disappointment, for sure Whyte looked good but Browne played a big part in how he looked.
Joshua says “The Whyte that fought Lucas Browne will struggle against Parker. Parker’s very quick and nimble, so you need to match speed for speed.”
Is the fight with Dereck Chisora in December 2016 a better indication of how good Chisora really is. Whyte beat Chisora in a thrilling but desperately close fight, was that his level, Parker is no Chisora and he might just be a level above Whyte.
Whyte has had to overcome a troubled past growing up in Brixton including being stabbed and shot at and trouble seemed to follow Whyte. But as it has done for many others boxing has saved Whyte, giving him the discipline and focus he needed, not just for boxing but for life itself.
Parker is the one with the greater experience in both the amateur and professional ranks. As an amateur Parker competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and after turning pro in 2012 he won the WBO heavyweight title in 2016 defeating Andy Ruiz on points to claim the vacant title. The New Zealander made two defences before Joshua added the WBO belt to his ever-increasing collection.
For Parker, this is a high-risk fight and he deserves credit for not taking safer options to preserve his position in the queue for another shot to wear heavyweight gold. Despite the PPV controversy this a throwback to another era, where boxers had to fight other contenders near them in the rankings to earn their shot, a refreshing change others should take note.
Whyte himself could have gone another route to get his chance, keep winning and being in the right camp your opportunity will come eventually, Whyte could easily have done that and he too should be applauded for taking the fight.
Picking a winner is difficult, the odds at the time of writing show Parker as the slight betting favourite which on balance is about right.
Whyte has shown vulnerabilities in the past, he’s been hurt, dropped and stopped Parker hasn’t even felt the canvas yet, even Joshua who had stopped everyone prior couldn’t drop or even seriously hurt Parker.
But have we yet seen the very best of Whyte, despite being the slightly older fighter is he the fighter who is improving, his peak yet to be seen? This isn’t a Whyte who is working the doors as he did early on his career, Whyte is on the verge of a life-changing fight should he be the one with his hand raised on Saturday night and I don’t expect anything other than a Whyte in the best shape of his professional career.
Numbers-wise their records are incredibly similar, total fights, KO rate, they are the same height the only real difference is Parker has boxed more rounds (135-110) and his quality of opposition is superior to Whyte.
Parker and Joshua both fought with caution, not helped by an overly fussy referee, I don’t see that happening at the O2 on Saturday.
Whyte doesn’t sound as though caution is on his mind:
“I’m hungry and when I fight I want to hurt these men. I want guys to go home after losing to me and thinking be thinking about me in September after I’ve beat you up in July. I’ll be all over him, hitting him everywhere and often. He’s going to hate that.”
Kevin Barry, Parker’s trainer sees this as their redemption fight:
“This has been the key all through this campaign. This is redemption. He wants to show British fans, New Zealand fans and boxing fans around the world that the Joseph Parker we saw fight Anthony Joshua is not the Joseph Parker who will fight Dillian Whyte.”
Many will say the undercard is disappointing, but I doubt the main event will disappoint. Redemption or the life-changing win I have a feeling it will deliver what is needed to satisfy the paying public be it the ones seeing it live or the ones who have taken the plunge in buying the PPV.
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