Joseph Parker
Nation
Date of birth
9 january, 1992 (32 Years Old)
Height
6 ft 4 (193 cm)
Reach
76 in (193 cm)
Wins
35
Losses
3
Ko's
23
Joseph Parker
Nation
DATE OF BIRTH
9 january, 1992 (32 Years Old)
Height
6 FT 4 (193 CM)
REACH
76 IN (193 CM)
wins
35
Losses
3
ko's
23
Notable Opponents
Titles Won
Titles Won
Background
Joseph Parker was a successful amateur, winning his first tournament in 2009 (the New Zealand National Golden Gloves tournament) and quickly following up with success in 2010 and 2011 by winning the New Zealand Amateur National Championships. His won his last tournament as an amateur in Serbia, after participating in a tournament in Belgrade for amateurs.
Parker earned a lot of victories winning local tournaments or placing high in international competitions such as the Commonwealth Games, but noticeably he also lost to Heavyweight prospects, several of who would become high-ranked fighters later on. The fellow New Zealander Junior Fa, for example, beat Parker at least twice during his amateur career, first in the New Zealand National Championships in the final, second during the Oceania Olympic qualifiers in the quarter-final.
Other notable opponents who Parker faced and lost to includes future top 15 fighter of the Heavyweight division Filip Hrgovic. Zhilei Zhang and Tony Yoka, both of who have also landed in the top 15 of heavyweight rankings in recent years, also defeated Parker in the amateurs.
Accomplishments
Parker became a professional in mid-2012 and went on an undefeated winning streak where he won a national, and several continental titles from 2013 to 2016. His most challenging opponents since becoming a professional was Carlos Takam who he fought – and beat – on 21 May, 2016 by UD. Having made his way past a strong and reputable opponent, it didn’t take Parker long to gain the opportunity for his first world title belt against Andy Ruiz Jr on December 10 later that year.
Both fighters faced each other with unbeaten records, similar heights and were considered the top contenders for the WBO World Heavyweight title that was on the line. As expected of such a match-up, the fight was very close and ended with a controversial majority decision win for Parker, granting him his first World title. After defending his belt a further two times over the next year – winning a close match against Hughie Fury, Tyson Fury’s cousin, in the process – a unification fight between him and Anthony Joshua was scheduled for March 31 in 2018. With his WBO belt on the line along with AJ’s three titles, Parker stood more to gain, rather than more to lose.
Already facing a humongous task fighting on AJ’s homeground, Parker failed to secure a win in his match versus Anthony Joshua and he slipped to a UD loss, losing his belt in the process. His comeback in his very next match was foiled when he subsequently lost to Dillian Whyte in another UD loss.
Refusing to give up, Parker sailed to three victories following his two losses, knocking out each opponent. On February 27 in 2022 Parker was scheduled to face his old foe from the amateurs Junior Fa where he comfortably won by unanimous decision, successfully revenging his losses all those years ago. His very next fight against Heavyweight veteran Derek Chisora ended in a close split decision win for Parker. Due to the result being deemed as controversial (partially due to Parker suffering a first-round knockdown), Parker Chisora for a second time on December 12 in 2021, this time netting a more convincing result with a unanimous decision win.
Another world title opportunity was potentially in sight for Parker if he managed to beat Joe Joyce for the vacant WBO interim heavyweight title once their match was arranged for September 24th in 2022. Unfortunately, Parker suffered the third loss of his career after getting stopped by Joyce in the 11th round after a tough fight.
In 2023, Parker was quick not to just sit on his laurels and scored a unanimous decision victory over former British Cruiserweight Jack Massey. Later that same year in May, Parker also stopped Australian fighter Faiga Opelu in just the first round.
In accordance with his increased activity, Parker fought for the third time in 2023 on October 28th when he faced Canadian heavyweight contender Simon Kean. Parker scored a decisive and total knockout victory over Kean in the third round of their fight.
On December 23rd, Parker defeated former WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder by unanimous decision in a dominant albeit surprising performance.
Months later, Joseph Parker battled against Chinese behemoth and WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang. During their March 8th bout, Parker pulled off another unlikely victory as he went on to win his match against Zhang by majority decision.
Boxing Style
Throughout much of his earlier career, Joseph Parker utilized an effective ‘punches in bunches’ style, often using combo’s to attack. His defense however, was never on par with his offense and Parker struggled various times against boxers of power, notably Derek Chisora, Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua.
Despite his recent struggles in the ring, Parker is a sure-fire threat and with a KO-percentage of 72%, he remains one of the most experienced and dangerous fighters in his division.