By Patrick McHugh: #3 IBF Carlos Takam (33-2-1, 25 KOs) intends on turning his fight against #4 IBF Joseph Parker (18-0, 16 KOs) into a war this Saturday night in their IBF heavyweight eliminator bout at the Vodafone Events Centre, in Manukau City, New Zealand.
Takam and Parker have a lot to lose in this fight and a lot to gain. The winner of the bout will be the IBF mandatory challenger to champion Anthony Joshua. That means they’ll get a life changing payday depending on how well the fight does on Sky Box Office.
Former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin just got a big payday against Joshua, and now it’s fringe contender Dominic Breazeale’s turn. The winner of the Takam-Parker could be next in line later this year if Joshua defeats Breazeale.
“It’s very, very important to win the fight,” Takam said to m.nzherald.co.nz. “I come here to New Zealand to win, not to lose. We’re going to make a war.”
Parker, 24, only knows how to go to war with his usually over-matched opponents. The question that the fans whether Parker can stand up to someone that throws punches back at him with a lot of power on them. Parker, 6’4”, hasn’t looked so great in the fights where he’s had guys punching him back. His defense is very power, and he doesn’t have an outside game for some reason.
Most of the punches Parker throws are when he’s at close to medium range. Takam has more offensive skills than Parker and punching power that is almost as good. Takam is capable of throwing punches all night long, and it’s going to be a problem for Parker to match his work rate, especially if his defense is poor as it’s been in the past.
The 35-year-old Takam has more to lose in this fight than the 24-year-old Parker for obvious reasons. Takam has been toiling away for years in the division without getting a world title shot. He came close to putting himself in position for a title fight when he fought Alexander Povetkin in 2014. However, Povetkin had a better motor in that fight and was able to steam past Takam in the 10th round when he stopped him with a big shot.
In light of Povetkin’s recent positive test for the drug Meldonium, which is a drug that helps fighters’ stamina, you have to wonder whether he was using the drug for the Takam fight. The drug was just recently banned so there’s not much you can say about it if Povetkin was using it.
“This is a very, very big challenge,” Parker said. “This guy’s not a joke. He’s come prepared, he’s been in the ring with some big names, so I know it’s going to be a big challenge but I know it’s a challenge I’m ready for.”
Parker has the punching power to win this fight, but he’s going to need to get out of the way of Takam’s punches because Parker’s chin isn’t the best. He gets hit too cleanly with shots, and he resembles guys that come from other sports like football and who haven’t developed the skills to turn with the shots and take them without getting hurt.