By: Hans Themistode
The back-to-back losses Joseph Parker picked up in 2018 are now a thing of the past as he scored a fairly easy win over fringe contender Junior Fa.
The all New Zealand showdown took place at the Spark Arena, in Auckland New Zealand.
With a potential loss pushing him all the way down the heavyweight ladder, Parker (28-2, 21 KOs) came out strong in the opening bell. The former WBO belt holder easily outboxed his man for the vast majority of the first three minutes. He managed to lose a bit of concentration during the waning seconds though as he was wobbled.
No ill effects were noticed in the following round as Parker went right back to work. He was tagging his man with lefts and rights and seldom had to worry about any return fire.
Although Fa was thoroughly outboxed, he managed to take the shots well. That is, until he was hit with an overhand right in the fourth. Parker couldn’t take complete advantage of the big shot as Fa began letting his hands go in an attempt to keep the former titlist away from him.
Realizing that there was no way he could outbox his opponent, Fa (19-1, 10 KOs) began turning things ugly. He worked the body and stayed on the inside. Parker did have his moments of success, but for the most part, Fa had him exactly where he wanted him.
Growing tired of the clinch work, Parker landed a big shot on Fa as he attempted to work his way inside. He appeared to be in a bit of trouble but not enough for Parker to finish him off.
Over the past few years, Parker has received criticism for what many believe is a lack of a killer instinct. The championship rounds proved to be much of the same as both he and Fa held and grabbed each other until the final bell rang.
In the end, while Fa fought hard, all three judges scoring the contest didn’t view him as the winner. The final scorecards were as followed: 115-113, 117-111 and 119-109 all in favor of Parker.
With his fourth win in a row, Parker could be headed towards a showdown against Dereck Chisora later on this year. The British native lost his most recent contest against Oleksandr Usyk but fought well. Both Parker and Chisora were originally scheduled to face off in 2019 but Parker fell ill and their contest fell by the wayside.
Now, with his fourth win in a row and both sides chirping back and forth over the past several months, promoter Eddie Hearn expressed a real interest in making their showdown a reality for a date to be revealed later this year.