Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker will fight for the IBF World Heavyweight Title, come Saturday March 31, 2018 (Principality Stadium).
Anthony Joshua enters this fight with a 20-0 record that includes 20 knockouts. This will be Joshua’s sixth fight since 2016, and he’s coming off a October win over Carlos Takam. J
Joshua continues to stay busy, as he proves he’s the best heavyweight in the world and is defending a belt for a fifth straight fight. Joshua also has a chance to give his opponent their first loss for the sixth time in his career.
Joshua is a 28-year-old who stands at 6’6”, 82 inch reach and an orthodox stance. Joshua is also the total package in terms of power, footwork, IQ and hand speed.
He has knocked out every single one of his opponents, and broken down his last two fighters rather than just going for the haymaker and the quick ending punch. Joshua was knocked down in his bout with Wladimir Klitschko, but other than that, he’s shown very few flaws in his game. Joshua is in a class by himself until proven otherwise. Joshua has fought his whole career in the United Kingdom, his birthplace. Joseph Parker enters this fight with a 24-0 record that includes 18 knockouts. This will be Parker’s eighth fight since 2016, and he’s coming off a September win over Hughie Fury. Parker has a shot at the biggest win of his career and looks to defend his WBO heavyweight title for a third straight fight.
Parker is 26 years old, stands at 6’4”, and has a 76 inch reach and an orthodox stance. Parker is a rangy boxer and has won nine of his last 13 fights by knockout. However, Parker doesn’t have a knockout victory since his 2016 win over Alexander Dimitrenko, as his last three fights have ended in decision.
Parker isn’t that difficult to counter, which is one of his main weaknesses, but considering he survived bouts against Andy Ruiz and Carlos Takam, he’s shown he has a really solid chin at this stage. This will be Parker’s second fight in the United Kingdom.
It’s honestly difficult for me to determine just how good Parker is, as I’m simply not impressed with his resume and question if he’s ready for a fight like this. Besides a lack of experience against great fighters, Parker is also giving up a six inch reach to Joshua and doesn’t have the pure punching power to really concern the champion.
AJ has shown over his last few fights that he’s more than capable of breaking down his opponent rather than simply landing the powerful combo to end things. That takes Joshua to the next level and really put him in a class by himself. For me, Parker hasn’t shown anything against another top tier fighter than makes me think he can go into Joshua’s backyard and become the first to beat him. I don’t see this fight being close.
