By Craig Daly: Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) pounded former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (30-3, 21 KOs) to a stop in the 11th round Saturday night to capture the interim title of the WBO at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
After the fight, Joyce called out unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. Joyce feels that he will have a chance against Usyk in 2023 or else he will be elevated to the status of the new WBO champion.
Joyce landed a left hook to Parker’s head in the eleventh round that dropped him. The fight was then stopped by referee Steve Gray when Parker was unable to get back to his feet in time to beat the count. The time of the stoppage was at 1:03 on the 11th.
Parker, 30, showed the heart of a true warrior by taking Joyce’s punishment until the 11th because he seemed dispirited at the midpoint of the fight, and it was obvious he would eventually get knocked out.
Joyce gave Parker a bloody nose early in the fight in the fifth round and then cut him over the right eye in the ninth round.
Parker landed a lot of big punches even though he was worn out, but Joyce took them with no problem. Whatever Parker hit him with, Joyce would return fire and outmatch him with shots to the body and head.
“It was a tough fight, and I commend Joseph Parker. He is improving, and he plays me what a tough fight. I really enjoyed it. It was tough there. I had to dig deep to get through the rounds. However, I really enjoyed it.
“I literally hit him with everything I have. The kitchen sink, the bag, everything, and body shots. I tried everything. But he kept moving forward, game, and I managed to drop him at the end. But it was hard work.
“Usyk, I am very sensitive. Let’s do it,” Joyce said.
When the two were at close range, Joyce continued to work, pumping short body shots and never letting Parker rest. Joyce’s constant pressure and punches seemed to take the fight away from Parker, as he couldn’t rest from the heavy barrage.
As in his fight with Daniel Dubois, Joyce did a lot of damage with his powerful jab, which swelled up Parker’s face early on. The jabs were almost like power shots, and it was obvious that Parker wasn’t enjoying it.
In hindsight, Parker made a mistake going to a career-high 255 pounds because he looked tired early in the fight, and the extra weight he had packed on would seem to me to be the main culprit.
For this type of fight, Parker would have done better if he was as skinny as possible because it was going to be a fight that required some excellent cardio.
Parker’s power was pretty good throughout the fight, but he couldn’t match his enormous work rate from Joyce, and he couldn’t get away from most of her punches.
Going into the fight, it was thought that Parker would use the move to try and evade Joyce, but we didn’t see much of that tonight. The extra weight Parker packed on for this fight made it difficult for her to move the way he would have otherwise.
