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Plenty at stake in heavyweight clash

Joseph Parker goes into the lion’s den to face unbeaten Brit Joe Joyce in Manchester, with a shot at his former WBO title up for grabs. By Sam Wilson.

The talking is over and the training done. Now it’s time for Joseph Parker and Joe Joyce to put it all on the line in their eagerly-awaited heavyweight clash in Manchester today.

A rejuvenated Parker (30-2, 21 KOs) hasn’t been seen in the ring since last December, when he dominated Derek Chisora over 12 rounds at the same venue.

And he faces one of the toughest challenges of his career in the shape of Joyce (14-0, 13 KOs), a towering Brit with power in both hands looking to announce himself as a major player in the sport’s marquee division.

Since today’s contest pits the WBO’s No 1-ranked contender Joyce against No 2 Parker, the organisation recently upgraded it to WBO interim world title status.

That means the winner will get a guaranteed shot at the belt currently around Oleksandr Usyk’s waist.

So far, so straightforward. But there’s a catch. Usyk has a unification showdown against WBC champion Tyson Fury taking precedence.

In addition, Joyce has a rematch clause should he come unstuck against Parker, further delaying the New Zealander’s pursuit of his old belt.

So if Parker wants to be a world champion again, he’s going to have to beat the Brit not once, but twice.

Hailing from London, Joyce turned professional in 2017 aged 31 after a long and distinguished amateur career in which he won Commonwealth Games gold in 2014 and silver at the Olympics two years later, losing a controversial decision to France’s Tony Yoka in the final.

Standing 6ft 6in (193cm) tall and weighing around 263lb (119kg), Joyce is nicknamed the ‘Juggernaut’ due to his relentless, come-forward style and knack of overwhelming his opponents through sheer pressure.

Surprisingly, Joyce is a slight favourite with the bookmakers, despite being less experienced as a professional (14 fights to Parker’s 32) and seven years older than the Kiwi.

However, he is yet to taste defeat in the paid ranks, whereas Parker has suffered that fate twice (back-to-back defeats to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in Britain in 2018).

A big question is what it would mean for Parker if he loses.

If Parker is knocked out in devastating fashion, then it would be very damaging to his prospects of ever becoming champion again.

In that scenario, Parker would likely drop down the rankings of the various sanctioning bodies and have to work his way back up into contention. Aged 30 and with 10 years in the fight game, would he have the hunger to take on young, hungry prospects on his way back up the ladder?

Should he lose by decision without taking too much punishment, then Parker can afford to lick his wounds before making one last run at winning a world title. He hasn’t lost in six fights across four years and can’t be written off completely for losing to a highly-ranked opponent.

And in the event of a close contest or a controversial verdict in Joyce’s favour, there might be clamour for an immediate sequel, as we saw when Parker narrowly defeated Derek Chisora.

SPORT

en-nz

2022-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/286878054174480

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