Boxing
– Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker – World Heavyweight Title Unification
Fight – Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Britain – March 31, 2018 Anthony
Joshua celebrates with the belts after winning the fight Action Images
via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
In what could be described as a sweet victory from a hard earned
bout, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua on Sunday emerged the clear
winner to add the WBO heavyweight belt to his WBA, IBO and IBF titles.
The Nigerian born professional boxer defeated Joseph Parker at
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in the heavyweight unification bout with a
unanimous points verdict.
Joshua who was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, to Nigerian parents,
Yeta, and Robert Joshua added the WBO belt to the WBA and IBF belts he
already holds, but he took the distance for the first time in his
professional career.
It was his 21st straight career victory, although previously
unbeaten New Zealander Parker delivered a battling display without
seriously troubling Joshua.
Joshua, almost a stone lighter than when he beat Carlos Takam in
Cardiff last October, did enough without setting the fight alight, while
Parker had his moments, even if an upset victory never looked on.heer
size and power of Joshua was keeping him mostly on the retreat and he
was wobbled a little again.
The WBO title holder was keeping himself in the rounds but having
difficulty doing enough to win them. He did; however, appear to edge the
fifth when he broke past the AJ jab to land a couple of good rights.
Suitably encouraged, Parker went on all-out attack at the start of
the sixth and drove Joshua around the ring with a series of rights. When
Joshua landed a heavy right himself the Kiwi absorbed the shock, true
to his resilient reputation.
Plan B for team Parker, if he could not land an early knockout, was
to test Joshua’s allegedly suspect stamina deep into the fight. Joshua
was warned by referee Giuseppe Quartarone for throwing a huge right
uppercut on the break.
The punch was reminiscent of the one which undid Wladimir Klitschko
at Wembley but fortunately it did not have the same effect. Had it done
so there might have the risk of a disqualification.
Parker was doing his best to drag Joshua into a brawl. AJ was
tempted but held his temper and picked off the opponent with a sizeable
left at close quarters. This time Parker staggered but again he took a
punch which might have finished many another heavyweight.
We were in the rounds in which Joshua had predicted a knockout
victory, but his rhythm was being interrupted by the tape on his glove
coming loose. That made for a messier round and Parker may have edged it
with a couple of right-hand sorties.
Joshua reasserted himself with three big lefts which reddened
Parker’s right eye. But once again he was having trouble putting his man
away.
Parker had made real fight of it against size and odds but there
was still no sign of the knockout he needed when decisively behind on
the score cards. And a couple of late lefts from Joshua took the
penultimate round away from him.
There was no sign of Joshua running out of steam. So that question
appeared to have been answered. But come the final bell Parker had still
never been put down in his career. Joshua went for that scalp in the
last but the knock-out was not be and the reception from the crowd was
mixed.
Commentary by The Nation
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