As Joseph Parker prepares for this weekend’s heavyweight bout against Joy Joyce at the Manchester Arena, his promoter David Higgins is outspoken about his concerns about how the scoring could go in this fight, particularly considering Parker has been in the receiving end of what Higgins considers ‘terrible officiating.
“It was outrageous,” Higgins said. “We are somewhat aware [in] this fight against Joyce. Joyce is tough and durable, and if there are close rounds, we’re expecting the judges to play straight bats and not allow perception, bias or unconscious bias to come into play. So we just hope that we can get a fair chance on British soil.”
Higgins would go on to say that he is not specifically indicting all of the officials and judges assigned to this fight, but emphasizes that he would hate to see bias come into play here.
Realistically though, Higgins is aware that he and his man are fighting in enemy territory. And while that’s not to say there will certainly be corruption or favoritism, the perception may be the reality. We will have to wait and see what happens this weekend.
