By Scott Gilfoid: Undefeated heavyweight contender Joseph Parker (21-0, 18 KOs) believes that his speed and talent will lead him to victory on December 10 against unbeaten contender Andy Ruiz Jr. (29-0, 19 KOs) in their scrap for the vacant WBO heavyweight title at the Vector Arena, in Auckland, New Zealand.
Parker’s own trainer Kevin Barry surprised a lot of boxing fans recently when he said he didn’t see the 24-year-old Parker as the favorite in the fight. Barry favors the 27-year-old Ruiz Jr., who is ranked below Parker at No.3 in the World Boxing Organization’s top 15 rankings. The WBO has Parker at No.1 and Wladimir Klitschko at No.2.
It’s surprising that Wladimir is ranked at No.2, because he hasn’t fought in 12 months, and he’s coming off of a loss. You would think that the WBO would readjust their ratings so that more active fighters would be ranked rather than guys that are sitting idle for one reason or another.
Parker said this to skysports.com about his fight against Ruiz Jr. on December the 10th:
“I think Kevin did say Andy was the favorite, but he didn’t say I was going to lose,” said Parker. “I respect Kevin and his opinion and Andy does have fast hands, but I believe I’m faster, so I’ll prove Kevin wrong on fight night. I’ll be the faster fighter.”
To be sure, Ruiz Jr. has fast hands, but what he lacks is quick feet. Ruiz Jr. will likely come into the Parker fight weighing in the 250s. This is obviously a better weight for Ruiz Jr. than the 290s that he started his career out in 2009, but it’s still a lot of weight for him to have to move around the ring. All it takes is one look at Ruiz Jr. to realize that he’s never going to be fast on his feet.
It doesn’t matter if Ruiz Jr. has fast hands for a heavyweight, he can’t move well at all. If Parker is going to jab, move and pot shot Ruiz Jr. all night long on December 10, I think it’s going to be a one-sided affair. Ruiz Jr. won’t be able to win a decision under those circumstances. For Ruiz Jr. to have a chance of winning this fight, he needs Parker to be stationary so that he can land his big shots. Even under those conditions, I’m not too sure whether Ruiz Jr. can win.
Parker is a heavy puncher also, and I think he’d ultimately outwork him in a war. Ruiz Jr. got tired in his fight against a past his best Siarhei Liakhovich two years ago in winning a 10 round decision in a fight that was much closer than the scores that were handed down by the judges. I had Ruiz winning narrowly, but two of the judges gave him the win by the scores 99-91 and 98-92. That’s not the fight that I saw. One judge scored it 96-94 in favor of Ruiz Jr. That score seemed the most realistic of the three in my book.
Since that fight, Ruiz Jr. has fought five times in beating the following over-matched opposition: Joel Godfrey, Raphael Zumbano Love, Ray Austin, Josh Gormley and Franklin Lawrence. Those were all mismatches. None of the fights told us anything about Ruiz Jr. other than the fact that he can beat weak opposition without too many problems. Obviously some weak opposition give Ruiz Jr. problems, as we saw in his fight against Liakhovich.
This is the same fighter that Deontay Wilder knocked out in one round in 2013. The fact that Ruiz Jr. had to really struggle to best Liakhovich gives you a good indication what the limits are in Ruiz Jr’s talent department. He’s good basic fighter, but one with a lot of flaws in the stamina and mobility department.
Ruiz Jr. does hit hard though. If you stand with your back against the ropes for 12 rounds, Ruiz Jr. is going to work you over and make you wish you’d taken an easier option. Ruiz Jr. seems to be at his best when his opponents rest against the ropes. If you do that against him, he’s going to batter you. If Parker fights with his back against the ropes against Ruiz, it’s going to be bad news for him. Ruiz Jr. is too good of a puncher for Parker to fight with his back against the ropes. Parker has got to use his boxing skills and his fast feet to stay out of harm’s way if he wants to win the fight.
“This is my time. Andy, I know he is preparing well for this fight, and I know he’s taking this very seriously but the fight is going to be held here at home and I’m ready for it,” said Parker.
Well, here’s the deal; the fight is taking place in New Zealand, Parker’s home country on December 10. The fans are going to be rooting for Parker all night long, and that’s going to give him the energy he needs to out-box Ruiz Jr. Besides that, having the fight at home could potentially make it easier for Parker to win a decision in this fight.
If the judges hear all the screaming from the boxing fans in support of Parker, you would have to think that they would more than likely score any close rounds in favor of Parker rather than the visiting Ruiz Jr. I don’t think it’s going to be a close fight anyway. This isn’t going to be one of those controversial decision type fights in my view. I think Parker is going to win the fight in a definitive manner to show the boxing world that he deserves the WBO heavyweight title.