By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker will be training at David Haye’s gym in Vauxhall for his last two weeks of camp to get ready for his July 28 fight against the sometimes hot-headed #1 WBC Dillian Whyte (23-1, 17 KOs) at the O2 Arena in London, England. Parker’s promoter David Higgins says Haye could give him tips to use to defeat the 30-year-old Whyte on the night.
By this point, Haye obviously knows all the faults in Whyte’s game. However, it’s unclear what Haye can tell Parker (24-1, 18 KOs) that he doesn’t already know. Whyte is a basic fighter, who only has a couple of facets to his game. He’s not a complex fighter. Whyte tends to get upset when he takes any kind of shot, and he responds by going after his opponents in all-out attacks. That cost Whyte the fight against Anthony Joshua when he was knocked out in the 7th round, and it almost cost him against Dereck Chisora in 2016.
Whyte beat Chisora but it was a highly questionable victory. Parker, 26, needs to decide whether he wants to slug with Whyte or not. There’s a definite vulnerability with Whyte’s chin and especially his limited stamina. If Parker can force Whyte to fight a fast pace, he’ll have him slapping and getting nailed by hard shots. Whyte isn’t a major puncher like some of the other heavyweights in the division. Parker clearly has more power than Whyte. There’s no question about it. Parker is younger, stronger, faster, and more mobile and dare I say more talented. The problem with Parker looking to box his way to a decision victory over Whyte is the possibility of losing a controversial decision.
The O2 is Whyte’s home tuff, and it’s going to be extremely difficult for the visitor Parker, who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, to come in and get a decision in the UK. Parker has everything working against him in terms of being a visitor. That’s why it might be in Parker’s best interest to go after Whyte’s chin and look to knock him out so that he doesn’t wind up losing a controversial decision.
“David seems to have been very good to us from our first fight up there. David’s been very helpful, we’re very grateful,” Higgins said to skysports.com about Parker being helped by Haye. “David has been very accommodating. I’m sure that he and Joseph will discuss tactics and stuff like that. The use of the facilities has been invaluable, they are private, hidden and quiet, and near the hotel.”
The thing that Haye will likely tell Parker is to get Whyte angry and frustrated by nailing him with shots, and then using movement to keep from getting countered. Again, this might not work in Parker’s favor if he lets the fight go to the scorecards. It’s better for Parker to box Whyte for a period of time, and then go after him to try and knock him out in the later rounds. Whyte will likely tire out in the second half of the fight and be at the mercy of Parker’s power shots.