From Kiwi kid to world champion
Joseph Parker knows within himself that he beat Andy Ruiz, despite some quarters questioning a victory that makes him the WBO heavyweight champion of the world.
Parker became the first New Zealand-born fighter to claim a world heavyweight belt with a majority points decision over the Mexican in Auckland on Saturday.
Ruiz’s camp believe they were robbed and New Zealand Professional Boxing Association president Lance Revill made the outrageous claim that Ruiz ‘‘got ripped off’’.
A relaxed Parker took that on the chin, just as he did some of Ruiz’s best shots.
‘‘I don’t blame them, it was a very close fight so I don’t blame them for questioning. But deep down inside I know I won. I know that I did enough to get the victory,’’ Parker said yesterday.
And Parker spent plenty of time reflecting on it. He shied away from his usual after-fight celebrations, checked in on his new baby daughter Elizabeth, and then sought solitude.
‘‘I was thinking about the journey and the years that went in to get to this position, being champion of the world,’’ he said of his time alone.
Mixing with friends and family yesterday, the champion looked peaceful and relaxed.
‘‘It’s still sinking in,’’ Parker said as he sipped water while his team and associates partied at a central Auckland hotel.
‘‘I said to everyone before the fight that whatever happens, I’m going to take some time to myself, I’m not going to party. I feel good. I don’t have a lot of injuries or marks, maybe a little bruise here or there, but other than I think I’ve pulled up well.’’
Trainer Kevin Barry was happy with the performance, thrilled with the result, but not so happy to hear the decision being questioned.
‘‘All I can say is this: I thought it was a very close fight, I thought Joe scored a lot of clean punches with his left jab from the outside. We had three independent judges from three different countries around the world that we have no affiliation with. One had it a draw and two had it for Joe, so Joe is the champion,’’ Barry said of a scorecard that read 114-114, 115-113, 115-113.
Parker’s Sunday also involved watching IBF champion Anthony Joshua defend his belt in Manchester with a three-round demolition of American Eric Molina.
Parker, who now wants to try to unify the division by targeting the other belts, was impressed by Joshua but emphasised the big Brit held no fears for him.
‘‘He looked great, he looked strong. Joshua is tall, calm, he has a lot of power.
‘‘But I have no fear . . . put me in a ring with Joshua and I’ll back myself any day. I’ll fight him any time.’’
After Joshua’s win it was confirmed he and former champion Wladimir Klitschko will fight in April. Britain’s Hughie Fury looks a likely mandatory defence for Parker. The Kiwi, now 22-0, was unsure of the plans but vowed: ‘‘Whoever they put in front of me I will be ready for it.’’
He now has a couple of months off to freshen up after a hectic three-and-a-half years.
The victory over Ruiz, in a year where he came through a similarly tough examination from Carlos Takam, has given him confidence, boosted further by the shiny new belt. ‘‘I feel like I belong there,’’ Parker said of being among the champions. ‘‘But I feel like there is a lot of work to be done. You are always learning, we have to learn new things.’’
He paid respect to Ruiz. ‘‘He’s the best fighter I’ve fought. He landed some good shots. He was hungry, I was hungry and I was just happy to get the victory.’’
Showers of Corona bottles hurtled through a million Mexican television sets, but it was a fight that Joseph Parker can be proud of winning.
I scored the fight seven rounds to five, or 115-113, to Ruiz, but Parker showed tremendous courage, fitness and a deal of skill to sway the judges.
If the fight had taken place in Guadalajara it might have been a different decision. But close fights usually go to the hometown boy. That has been the way of boxing for 100 years.
There were moments in the sixth and seventh rounds when you wondered if Parker had pulled the old rope-a-dope trick. Ruiz seemed slightly punched out and Parker began to put on a bit of footwork and a bit of swagger.
He was catching Ruiz with some big right hands, but the Mexican showed that he could not only take a punch, but counterpunch hugely effectively. Both men were ‘‘some kind of tough’’. Both men will have done their box office appeal no harm at all as Bob Arum looked on with calculating eyes.
It was heck of a fight, that exposed a lot of strengths and a lot of weaknesses. If Ruiz could hustle Parker so effectively inside and catch him with so many body shots, you wonder what a really big brawler like Tyson Fury might have achieved.
Parker was also caught with far too many counter punches. If he is this open against a boxer with the power of Anthony Joshua then he will get his lights knocked out. He looks a couple of years off the very top of the division yet.
Parker knows he was a bit lucky to get the decision. He looked very worried before the verdict and a little sheepish after it. Ruiz said: ‘‘I think I got the win. I came over here and fought in his home town. Congratulations to Joseph Parker. The judges score what they want to judge. Maybe we’ll get the rematch.’’
It was a plea that Parker’s trainer seemed happy to back up. Kevin Barry said: ‘‘I think these guys will fight again.’’
I am not sure that the promoters Duco will be so keen. Ruiz had the bottle and confidence to come and fight Parker in Auckland. Will the champion now return the favour and take Ruiz on in Mexico City? Somehow you suspect Parker is now worth too much money for that to happen. A draw would have set up a popular rematch, but Parker now has less risky routes forward.
Against the top fighters in the division, Parker will have to start far more quickly. He was smiling, mugging and winking for the cameras beforehand, but you would like to see more edge. Parker was bewildered by Ruiz’s hand speed early on and only got back into the fight when the Mexican began to slow.
It is doubtful whether the top three fighters in the division have seen terror in Parker’s hands. But they will have seen a big heart.
He was briefly tagged Jurassic Parker ahead of the fight, but tyrannosaurus rex he is not. Parker is a heck of a young fighter, but far from the dominant beast in the division. The question is whether he has the power to overcome the really big heavyweights.
Parker can claim to be a heavyweight champion of the world, but for now he is the indefinite article. Surely not even his mum would yet claim he is ‘the’ heavyweight champion of the world.
That is not to be churlish. On Saturday night Parker, a decent and courageous young man, set up his family for life. But he still has a long way to go before he is the most terrifying man on the planet. He has a long way to go before he can be called king of the world.