By: Jacob Tanswell
Almost instantly, after Anthony Joshua’s last win on October the 28th, Joseph Parker has been seen as the next chapter in Joshua’s career; a chance to pick up the third heavyweight title out the four main governing bodies that are up for grabs. Ever since then, there has been twists, turns and revelations involving the two fighters.
Due to Parker’s promoter, David Higgins, being so desperate for the fight and a slice of the “AJ Pie”, there have been some embarrassing moments in the promotional campaign. This belief came to fruition a few weeks ago, where out of nowhere, he organised a press conference, claiming he had videos of Anthony Joshua being dropped, exposing his “glass chin.” However, this was well and truly a car crash. It turned out, he designed a video, of which Eddie Hearn claimed “his daughter could do that” of boxers claiming they have dropped Joshua in sparring. According to many, this “massive” press conference looked like it was filmed in a broom cupboard, with approximately only 2000 people streaming it via social media.
Perhaps pushed, Joseph Parker has been messaging Anthony Joshua numerous times on Twitter. Whilst demanding 35% of the deal, he is adamant he will beat Joshua emphatically. His whole argument is based around the hashtag: #neverbeendropped as well as repeatedly claiming Joshua has a “glass chin”. In all honesty, people can come to their own conclusions about Joshua’s punch resistance due to the magnitude of the fight with Wladimir Klitschko, where he climbed up off the canvas to win by an 11th round stoppage.
It is unquestionable that so far in the two undefeated heavyweights careers it is Joshua that has fought the better opposition. So the question is, does Parker have an argument by using #neverbeendropped repeatedly? The fact of the matter is, when a 254 pound man, like Joshua catches you, flush, on the chin, it is more than likely you will be badly hurt. Therefore, in the heavyweight division you can’t rely on believing you have a granite chin. At any moment, any round, any second, men of this weight can knock out their opponent due to their huge physicalicality. The question is, is Parker going into a potential Joshua fight with a wrong mindset or mentality that will cause him to crumble on the big stage? Under the bright lights in the UK, where the crowd will be supporting a sporting superstar, can Parker have the courage to rely on his chin then? As stated, in order to beat Joshua, who is viewed by many as “the man” in the division, you need more than that to beat him. You need more strings to your bow, more craft in your game. Don’t you remember when “Prince” Charles Martin came to UK shores and made the exactly same claim? Look what happened to him…