By Charles Brun: #3 Zach Parker will fight #4 John Ryder for the interim WBO super middleweight title on November 26th at the O2 Arena in London, England.
It’s depressing to think that the Parker-Ryder winner could soon be elevated to the WBO super middleweight champion soon because neither of these guys would stand a chance against the talented opposition at 168.
Parker vs. Ryder is a fight that will put the winner in a position to eventually be ordered to challenge WBO 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez for him to defend his belt.
Given that it’s highly unlikely that Canelo would waste a valuable fight against these non-popular domestic-level fighters, the Parker-Ryder winner will probably be elevated to the full WBO champion status at some point.
Obviously, it’s not the best way for a fighter to pick up a belt, but Parker or Ryder won’t mind. They just want to be a champion, even if they’ll be seen as the paper variety.
The ‘Gorilla’ Ryder (31-5, 17 KOs) will face another big puncher in 28-year-old Parker (22-0, 16 KOs), who has largely fought obscure opposition his entire seven-year professional career.
With the weak opposition that Parker has fought, it’s impossible to know how he’ll do against a seasoned vet like Ryder. For all we know, Parker will gas out and get out-boxed or stopped by Ryder on November 26th.
Really, there’s no way to judge how Parker will do because his opposition has been so poor during his career. It’s fair to say that Parker’s record is built on fluff opposition, and that’s being kind.
Parker’s last six opponents:
Marcus Morrison
Sherzod Khusanov
Vaughn Alexander
Rohan Murdock
Steven Crambert
Darryll Williams
The 34-year-old Ryder is coming off an upset 12 round split decision over Daniel Jacobs last February in the UK. That was a somewhat questionable win for Ryder, as many boxing fans felt that Jacobs had done enough to either get a win or a draw.
In 2019, Ryder lost a controversial 12 round decision against former WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith. That’s a fight Ryder appeared to win, but he got the business in Liverpool against the hometown fighter.
Aside from the victory over Jacobs, Ryder’s best wins have come against Jamie Fox, Patrick Nielsen, and Adam Etches. Ryder’s losses have come against Jack Arnfield, Billy Joe Saunders, and Nick Blackwell.
