Via Barry Holbrook: Talks between undefeated WBO No. 1 heavyweight contender Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce and No. 2 Joseph Parker are going well.
Negotiations between Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs) and former WBO heavyweight champion Parker (30-2, 21 KOs) are making a “good statement” towards a possible fight into the season. summer.
The winner of the fight between Parker, 30, and Joyce will be in a brilliant position as the mandatory WBO to challenge winner Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksander Usyk II. Those two are expected to fight at the end of June.
Joyce, 36, was on the verge of a wrist injury during her sixth knockout win over Carlos Takam last July.
It was a fine performance by 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joyce with a win over old world title challenger Takam at Wembley Arena.
“It was a big war. We are still negotiating – it’s not finished yet but good progress being worked on,” Parker’s manager Adam Morallee told Sports sky.
Morallee talks about the Parker vs. Joyce: “It was the biggest fight other than the top four fighting. “It’s the biggest battle in the heavyweight segment right now.
“We hope we can land it and we hope we can land it in the UK for the UK fighting fans to see Joe Joyce continue his way to the top. of the tournament.”
Parker vs. Joyce isn’t “the biggest fight in the heavyweight segment,” as Morallee puts it, but it’s certainly a good one, one that will determine the winner Joshua vs. Usyk 2 will eventually face.
Parker looked greatly improved in his recent 12-round one-sided unanimous decision win over British gatekeeper Dereck Chisora last December in their rematch.
Parker dropped Chisora a few times and injured him several times during their battle.
As for Parker, he showed a lot more aggression against Chisora than in their first fight last May. Parker looked bashful as he beat Chisora by decision to split 12 rounds in that match.
Despite Parker’s improvement in game from his first match with Chisora, he still lacks the killer instinct to try to finish Dereck.
Every time Parker injures Chisora, he tries to knock him down, appearing wary of being caught by a stealthy punch from Delboy.
The engine Joyce has will make it difficult for Parker to win unless he can hold out at the fast pace the Juggernaut sets.
We haven’t seen Parker forced to fight hard for 12 rounds, so it will be interesting to see what happens under those conditions.
Joyce has been looking great lately, beating the following heavyweights:
- Carlos Takam
- Daniel Dubois
- Michael Wallisch
- Bryant Jennings
- Alexander Ustinov
- Bermane Stiverne
It is important for Joyce to get a title soon because his age is increasing and he will not be able to beat the top ones if he is too old.
