By Scott Gilfoid: Alexander Dimitrenko tried his best against unbeaten #1 IBF, #1 WBO heavyweight contender Joseph Parker last Saturday night, but he ended up getting dropped four times in the fight in losing by a 3rd round knockout in New Zealand.
Dimitrenko, 34, is specifically upset with how the fight ended with him getting pushed down and then hit in the midsection while he was down on one knee. Dimitrenko says he was initially forced down on the canvas by the 24-year-old Parker, and then hit with a punch to his left rib cage. Dimitrenko tried to argue his case to referee Marlon Wright, but he was told that he didn’t see the punch being thrown while he was down on the canvas.
“Of course, I am angry, because I was on my knee on the ground and he hit me. I didn’t see the punch. It’s more dangerous. I told this to the referee, and he said, ‘I didn’t see this.’ I don’t think I broke my rib, because I can breathe. I have no pain. I will be sure and go to the hospital.”
What hurts Dimitrenko’s case is that he was hit with a right hand to the body by Parker before he appeared to push him down on the canvas. It wasn’t much of a punch. It was more of a tap than anything, but it still occurred right before Parker appeared to force Dimitrenko down. At that point, the referee didn’t see Parker hit Dimitrenko with a body shot while he was down. Wright was behind the action and should have seen the late punch, but apparently he didn’t.
The confusing part of all this is that Wright was seen waving off the knockdown moments before Parker hit Dimitrenko while he was down. Since the referee was waving off the knockdown, it shouldn’t have mattered that Dimitrenko couldn’t get back up. That’s the weird part. If the knockdown wasn’t legit, then why did Marlon Wright suddenly change his mind?
Unfortunately for Dimitrenko, I don’t see the results of the Parker-Dimitrenko fight being overturned. I think the fight is going to stay as it is right now with Parker getting credit for a 3rd round knockout. Further, I don’t see Parker giving Dimitrenko a rematch to clear up the controversy. I think Parker is going to move on and fight either Andy Ruiz Jr. or Joshua next. Dimitrenko had his chance and he lost.
About the only thing Dimitrenko can do is to try and learn from the loss by tightening up his defense so he doesn’t get hurt repeatedly by head shots. At 34, I doubt that Dimitrenko is going to be able to improve enough for him to be a factor in the heavyweight division. I think he had his time back in 2009 and earlier when he was a highly ranked contender. It would be news if Dimitrenko were able to turn his boxing career around for him to become a major player in the heavyweight division.
When asked if Parker can beat IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, Dimitrenko said, “I don’t know. It’s difficult to say, because I hit him sometimes. Look, he will fight Anthony Joshua in London, England. I was pushed down.”
Dimitrenko has no idea who will win the fight between Joshua and Parker. All he can do is speculate like all the rest of the boxing fans. Just because Dimitrenko was able to hit Parker doesn’t mean that Joshua will be able to beat him. Joshua will still need to be able to handle Parker’s return fire for him to have a chance of winning.
Can Joshua handle Parker’s best shots without dropping for the 10 count or getting buzzed like he was against Romanian Mihai Nistor in a 3rd round stoppage loss in the 2011 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Ankara, Turkey? Nistor was head hunting the entire fight, and he eventually took Joshua out by beating him at his own game in the 3rd round. If the referee hadn’t stopped the contest, I think Joshua would have been flattened.
Joshua could wind up fighting Wladimir Klitschko for both of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s WBA and WBO titles on November 26. Parker’s promoter Dean Lonergan doesn’t see how the World Boxing Organization title could be on the line for the Joshua-Klitschko fight, because Parker is ranked #1 by the WBO right now and Wladimir No.2. Unless the WBO wants to change their rankings all of a sudden, Parker should be the one that fights for the vacant WBO title if it winds up getting stripped from Fury for his alleged positive cocaine test. The WBO can do whatever they want, but it would lucky funny in the eyes of a lot of fans if they let Klitschko and Joshua fight for their title rather than Parker.
“Only Harry Potter could pull off a WBO World title fight between Joshua and Klitschko, and the last time I looked fast Eddie [Hearns] wasn’t holding a wand,” said Lonergan to the nzherald. “As for Bernd Boente, he’s arrived on the scene as the evil wizard Voldenmort but actually doesn’t have any power.”
It won’t be surprising to me if we saw Klitschko and Joshua fighting for both the WBA and WBO title on November 26. I just don’t know what the WBO will say to justify having Klitschko fight for their title rather than the higher ranked Parker. My guess is the WBO will let Joshua and Klitschko fight for their title because it’s the bigger fight than Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.