Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury: Preview and prediction
Joseph Parker is the undefeated WBO heavyweight champion, but will he lose his title to Hughie Fury?
Saturday, Sept. 22, Joseph Parker will defend his WBO world heavyweight title for the second time. Hughie Fury, the cousin of Tyson Fury, looks to bring back heavyweight glory to England. Parker is at a disadvantage because he will be fighting in Fury’s home country.
On paper, the two boxers seem to be evenly matched. Parker is 25 years old and Fury is 23 years old. Parker has a record of 23-0, 18 Knockouts, and Fury is 20-0, with 10 knockouts.
Fury has a two inch height advantage. He is six feet six inches tall to Parker’s six feet four inches. While Fury enjoys a height and reach advantage, Parker has an 11 pound weight advantage despite being the shorter fighter. Parker weighed in at 245 pounds and Fury was 234 pounds.
The numbers offer up a stalemate, but the resumes and video of both fighters reveals who has the true advantage.
Fury, like cousin Tyson, has an incredibly awkward style. He is light on his feet for a big man, and he provides a lot of awkward movement with his upper-body. He holds his hands low and invites opponents in to be counter-punched. Fury’s biggest asset is his jab. He has long arms and controls distance with his jab. He is a good boxer, but he has a major deficiency—a lack of power.
Fury only has a 50 percent knockout rating, and his opponents have not been topnotch. The biggest names he’s been in against are Fred Kassi, Dominick Guinn and Andriy Rudenko. This is a lackluster group to say the least. He knocked none of these men out, which shows that he is missing substantial power for a heavyweight.
Joseph Parker is going to have no respect for Fury’s power. Fury is going to retreat and allow Parker to be the aggressor. Fury’s only chance to win this fight is to outbox Parker. If he had better power he might be able to keep Parker at bay, but he doesn’t. Parker will walk through Fury’s best punches.
Although their records provide similar numbers, Parker’s are more impressive. Parker has a 78 percent knockout rating against better opposition than Fury. The biggest names on Parker’s resume are Carlos Takam, Andy Ruiz Jr. and Kali Meehan. These aren’t the best heavyweights in the world, but Takam and Ruiz are much better boxers than anyone Fury has faced.
Parker wasn’t able to knockout Takam and Ruiz because they were able to keep him at distance with their power. Fury does not have that ability. Parker will have an easier time getting inside on Fury than he did with Takam and Ruiz.
Neither Parker or Fury are A-level boxers in the heavyweight division. They are more B-level, but the heavyweight division is not that deep outside of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. They will combine to put on a decent scrap, but neither man will show themselves to be a heavyweight superstar.
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Fury will retreat and counter-punch the entire time and Parker will move forward and chase Fury around the ring. Despite being in Fury’s home country, Parker will remain undefeated. He will most likely win by decision. The hometown fighter usually gets more love from the judges, but Parker should outwork Fury to the point where nobody could steal the fight from him—then again—we’ve seen some inexplicable scoring before.