Gerardo Granados: When was the last time the reader heard of a great fighter who came out of New Zealand? I recall one name and the reader must remember it too; Bob Fitzsimmons, who was born in England but raised in New Zealand where he became a boxer before finally moving to the United States of America. Of course it is too soon to tell if Joseph Parker will become a boxing star or even less to assume he is the future of the heavyweight division, but still I consider him as a very interesting young talent that fight fans should follow before we have to pay expensive PPV to be able to watch him fight.
As a lad I remember teenager Mike Tyson on the sports news, Iron Mike was regarded as a potential challenger to the heavyweight crown and for a couple of years he dominated the major weight division in an impressive manner. I am not saying that Joseph Parker will do the same and it is too soon to tell, but I strongly believe the young kiwi has the natural talent of a “fighter” and also a pleasant killer instinct to go along with his boxing skills. It is true that Joseph has enough room for improvement but at only 22 years of age he doesn’t need to be rushed to the title and better develop his defense and add a few tricks to his already good attack.
What I like the most about Parker is his maturity as a fighter; he is a young lion who fights with the experience and patient of an older one. He seems to be really focused on his boxing career and his trainer Kevin Barry has been able to teach him well.
For those fight fans who might not know him meet Joseph Parker: undefeated record of W11(9)-L0-D0, 6´4” height, 76” reach, average fight weight of 240 (you can expect him to add a couple of pounds as he grows older), has an athletic built, good footwork and jab, his speed and power are good but as years come I think he can improve his punching power; has faced quite good opposition and now is ranked 10 by the WBA and 14 by the WBO. The only problem that I see is that most of the casual boxing fans might not know him just yet.
Next December 6th at Hamilton, New Zealand, Joseph Parker will fight against dangerous puncher Irineu Costa Beato Jr. with a record of W15(13)-L1-D0 and ranked 15 by the WBO. I think this is a good opportunity for the fight fans to measure for themselves how good this young lion really is.
I am watching this fight, but is the reader interested?
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