By: Hans Themistode
After being forced to fight off the back foot and deal with relentless pressure from Dereck Chisora for much of their first contest, Joseph Parker has packed on the pounds.
With the pair set to square off for a second consecutive time at the Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom, this Saturday night, both men stepped onto the scales having taken different methods during their respective training camps.
During their first contest, which took place seven months ago, saw Parker weigh in at 241 pounds. This time around, he tipped the scales at 251 pounds. Throughout the entirety of the New Zealand native’s career, he’s routinely weighed-in around 235 pounds. His new and heavier frame checks in at a career-high.
Regardless of the extra pounds, Parker will look to build off his momentum after a disastrous 2018. The now 29-year-old suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, the former resulted in the forfeiture of his WBO heavyweight title.
Since then, however, Parker has reeled off five consecutive victories, three of which have come inside the distance.
As for Chisora, the 37-year-old fringe contender has peeled off a few pounds since his first encounter with Parker. Officially, the British native checked in at 248 pounds as opposed to the 250½ he weighed seven months prior.
After dropping the former titlist in the opening moments of the first round, Chisora fought Parker on mostly terms. Still, despite what he believes was a clear decision victory, Chisora was acrimonious by the final result. With back-to-back defeats, the former coming at the hands of current unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, Chisora has stated time and time again that he fully intends on hunting the knockout this time around against Parker.