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+--- Thread: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO (/showthread.php?tid=185)
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - diehard - 11-19-2016
Did find this on boxrec:
Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand view event
Heavyweight Joseph Parker 21 0 0 S Andy Ruiz Jr 29 0 0
vacant WBO World heavyweight title
Welterweight Jeff Horn 15 0 1 S Ali Funeka 39 5 3
Heavyweight David Letele 14 3 0 S Che Barlow 0 1 0
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - diehard - 11-20-2016
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/86509163/kevin-barry-versus-abel-sanchez--the-fight-within-the-wbo-title-fight-between-joseph-parker-and-andy-ruiz
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - diehard - 11-20-2016
Boxing: Lennox Lewis takes a jab at Joseph Parker
By Patrick McKendry in Las Vegas
6:00 PM Saturday Nov 19, 2016
Lennox Lewis, the man who crushed David Tua's heavyweight world title dream 16 years ago, insists Joseph Parker needs to concentrate on his jab against Andy Ruiz Jnr at Vector Arena on December 10.
Lewis, the man who held the IBF, WBC and WBA world titles during his career, which included 44 fights and only two losses, retired in 2003 after beating Vitali Klitschko. The now 51-year-old was known as an extremely hard man to hit due largely because of his jab, and he said that was a big part of the equation for Parker, who is gunning for the WBO title.
"It should be an interesting match-up," Lewis said. "Parker's OK. He's just started and he's got a lot to work on, a lot to do, and we are going to have to see how he fares. It all starts with the jab. If he starts off with the jab, he shouldn't do too bad. If he styles after me, he's got to have a good jab, long, loose and dangerous."
The comparison has already been made that Parker and the shorter Ruiz is a lot like the match-up of 2000 in Las Vegas between Lewis and Tua.
After battling for years to get a shot at the title, the comparatively short Tua was left chasing ghosts against Lewis before losing by unanimous decision.
When asked about fighting Ruiz, who is about 6cm shorter than the 1.94m Parker, Lewis said: "I know exactly what he's going to do, he's going to use that jab, he's going to use that jab and throw that upper cut in there."
Lewis added: "The heavyweight division is wide open now. It's there for the taking. It's really down to who wants to step in there first, step into the arena first, and take that chance against [Wladimir] Klitschko.
"Klitschko's armour has been hitched in the sense he's lost already [to Tyson Fury], so he's there, he's beatable. He is still the man to beat right now. I feel kind of bad for him because his belts have gone all over the place right now.
"The guy who beat him, he's not that able to step back into the ring and face him, and now he's supposed to fight Anthony Joshua and that fell through. The man he really wants to fight is Tyson Fury. So I think he's just sitting back, regressing and thinking about his next move."
On the same day Parker meets Ruiz, Joshua will fight Eric Molina in the United Kingdom in a defence of his IBF belt, one of those vacated by Fury.
It was a fight quickly arranged by Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn after Klitschko backed out of negotiations at the last moment, and American Molina isn't expected to stay in the fight for too long.
"I think Anthony Joshua has a good fight in the sense it's not going to be difficult. Obviously he's still got to watch out and not take any chances. I think it should be a three-round fight for him," Lewis said.
Parker is the mandatory challenger to Joshua's title.
* Patrick McKendry travelled to Las Vegas with assistance from Duco Events.
- NZ Herald
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - diehard - 11-22-2016
Kevin Barry worked with Andy Ruiz before taking on Joseph Parker
Trainer Kevin Barry has been thrilled with the rapid development of Joseph Parker that has him fighting for a world title.
Kevin Barry was in the process of negotiating a deal to train Andy Ruiz when Joseph Parker was offered to him.
Circumstances saw him take on the New Zealander and almost four years later Parker and Ruiz line out in Auckland on December 10 fighting for the WBO heavyweight title.
Fate works in funny ways and the irony of this situation isn't lost on Barry who has a strong appreciation of Ruiz's skills but firmly believes Parker has made the most progress in the ensuing years and is ready to deliver New Zealand a historic title.
Barry was rehabilitating from shoulder surgery in 2012 when Ruiz's camp approached him about casting his eye over the talented young Mexican.
"I was going and seeing Andy train and giving some pointers to him, I couldn't do any hands-on stuff because of my shoulder," Barry recalls.
"I was surprised that he had a lot more to learn. But he was an exciting fighter and I went and watched him fight a couple of times.
"I had a meeting with Andy's manager, he liked my approach and everything and after the shoulder was right I was going to be working with Andy. We negotiated a fee to train him, more or less on a weekly basis."
Circumstances changed in Ruiz's corner and Barry has no regrets.
"It [the deal] stalled and then the next minute I'm flying down to New Zealand."
Barry had received a phone call from Parker's bosses at Duco Events about taking on the rookie Kiwi professional who had four wins against nobodies, compared to Ruiz's unbeaten run over 17 fights.
Barry liked what he saw in Parker in terms of skills and potential, struck an instant bond and was intrigued enough to take on the task of turning him into a title contender.
Barry and Parker have arrived at that juncture and across the ring stands Ruiz, a unique fighter who defies his physical shape with lightning hands and deft footwork.
Barry knows this will be an enormous test for Parker.
"I really thought that the kid [Andy] was good enough to be world champion, otherwise I wouldn't have been interested," Barry said of his brief time with Ruiz.
"I saw him fight Oliver McCall's son Elijah in late 2012. McCall was 11-1 and a college footballer, a big strong muscular guy. He came out and cracked Andy flush. I'm literally sitting in the corner ... Andy didn't even move, and then just rips into him and brutally knocks him out. I thought this kid is frickin' awesome.
"Andy was a beast and we'd go around the gyms [in Las Vegas] and spar anyone who was willing to hop in the ring with him."
That's what led to Barry taking Parker to spar with Ruiz the following year, a meeting that has been well recorded. Ruiz smashed an unsuspecting Parker. The Kiwi and his mentor went away, worked on some tricks, and came back and dominated the subsequent sparring session. That gave the younger Parker the confidence that he could handle the pressures of the division.
"When we look back on that now, this was 2013, Joe was learning, he was in his infancy stage, he wasn't even a 10 round fighter," Barry surmises.
"If you look at the improvement and development from 2013 till now, I think most of the development has been done by Joe."
Barry is in the process of rounding off Parker's training for the title fight in Las Vegas where the boxer shares his trainer's house.
Ruiz, meanwhile, continues to work under the no-nonsense approach of title-winning trainer Abel Sanchez in Big Bear, shedding weight and developing a fight plan for his own shot at history to become the first mexican to claim a world heavyweight belt.
- Duncan Johnstone travelled to the United States as a guest of Duco Events.
- Stuff
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - NakiFan - 11-23-2016
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - diehard - 11-24-2016
Joseph Parker: Andy Ruiz is right, I was rubbish against Carlos Takam
Joseph Parker is happy for Andy Ruiz to rubbish the Kiwi heavyweight's performance against Carlos Takam.
That's because Parker agrees with the Mexican.
Ruiz's camp claim they are limiting their analysis of Parker's previous performances, preferring to work on their own strengths in the leadup to the WBO title fight in Auckland on December 10.
But they admitted they have had a decent look at Parker's rugged unanimous points win over the respected Takam back in May and made it clear they weren't impressed with the performance that earned him the No 1 ranking with the IBF and mandatory rights to that organisation's title.
Ruiz felt Parker's efforts there showed he would play into the pressure game he plans to employ against the Kiwi.
"In his fight against Carlos Takam he didn't really look that good, he's not good fighting backwards. That's going to be my advantage, pursuing him and throwing my combinations," Ruiz told Fairfax.
Ruiz wasn't getting any arguments from Parker when that was put to him, though the 24-year-old warned he was a different fighter now after learning the lessons of a difficult buildup to taking on Takam.
"I agree with him. When I look back at the fight I wasn't really impressed with my performance. I watched the fight twice afterwards and I felt like it was rubbish," Parker said.
"It was good getting victory because of what it meant - getting the mandatory position. It was good to know that I could win a fight like that not at my best, to be able to dig deep gave me a lot of confidence.
"So if they are judging me on that fight, that's good, because I'm a different fighter altogether.
"What do I put that down to? Well, me and Kev (trainer Kevin Barry) are still learning in camp and we saw a few things we did wrong in camp (then). So each camp we are making adjustments that we know will work a lot better."
Parker extended his usual 8-9 week camp to 12 weeks for the Takam fight, given the importance of what was at stake. It backfired. An overworked Parker collected an elbow injury and wasn't at his best in movement or power. He struggled with some defensive work, getting caught on the ropes, and failed to put Takam away mid-fight when he had the Frenchman stunned.
He knows he can't be as sloppy against Ruiz who has more speed and power than Takam.
Parker and Barry have gone back to an eight-week camp for the Ruiz fight, happy to have the conditioning factor there from a busy year which has allowed them to work on skills and a fight plan.
Parker has also taken on a new strength coach since the Takam fight, and feels the benefits of that was shown in his explosive demolition of giant Russian Alexander Dimitrenko last month.
He believes that further time under the strength coach since then, working on cross-fit exercises, will see him even better equipped for the considerable challenge of Ruiz.
"We saw the big difference in sparring, everything felt stronger, it felt like the movement was much better, and we were able to execute the plan in the Dimitrneko fight," Parekr said.
"We've been trying different things, the whole body feels stronger. I think with this you are going to see a little step up from the Dimitrenko fight."
- Stuff
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - diehard - 11-25-2016
The nation of Samoa, and its prime minister, are set to steal the limelight during the worldwide telecast of Joseph Parker's heavyweight title fight in Auckland next month.
Where the New Zealand government, and Auckland council, have declined to help fund Parker's fight for the WBO title against Mexican Andy Ruiz Jr at Vector Arena on December 10, Samoa and, in particular Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, have shown no such hesitation.
A sponsorship deal understood to be worth $US100,000 ($NZ137,000) was officially announced today which means rather than flattering pictures of Auckland, the Far North, or Queenstown in the broadcast, and involvement from this country's Prime Minister John Key, there will be shots of the white sandy beaches of Samoa and the presence in the ring of 71-year-old Malielegaoi.
"We had no hesitation [of offering financial support] due to the major benefits we can reap," Malielegaoi said.
Parker's promoter David Higgins, of Duco Events, acknowledged there could be some confusion from viewers around the world as to where the fight is being held. "We did try," he said of the applications for funding closer to home. "Yes, if you're a viewer watching this fight in London, or an investment banker in Germany or you're a lawyer in Vegas, it might seem somewhat odd that it's filled with a Samoan tourism promotion and introduced to the world by the Samoan Prime Minister, but that's not our doing."
Higgins confirmed Malielegaoi would be given the honour of introducing the main event. "We'll certainly invite him into the ring before the main event when international viewership is at its peak and there be a ceremonial introduction then and the national anthems.
"We might invite him back into the ring after to be part of the winner's belt presentation and he'll have the opportunity to say a few words to the global audience."
Both the Samoan and New Zealand anthems will be played before Parker, a New Zealand-born Samoan, attempts to win a significant heavyweight title belt for his countries for the first time. He is following in the footsteps of David Tua, who has a similar heritage. Sixteen years ago, Tua was beaten by Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas, but boxing fan Malielegaoi believes the odds are more even this time.
"David did face tremendous odds in the sense that he was much shorter and also had a shorter reach than the champion of the world at the time," he said. "He had a much greater problem in wrestling the heavyweight title from the champion. This second time I think we have the advantage in the sense that Joseph Lupesoliai Parker has a better reach and better height."
Higgins said the support from Samoa was crucial to the fight being held in Auckland, where Parker was born, rather than in the United States.
And Malielegaoi, who said he had invited high-profile actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to attend the fight as his special guest, took a diplomatic line when asked about the irony of his government supporting the event rather than New Zealand's.
"I am not the New Zealand government, but I can say that the government itself is faced with a tremendous, massive responsibility to recover the country from the major damages as a result of the earthquakes," he said.
- NZ Herald
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - Infern0 - 11-25-2016
That's embarrassing for NZ
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - diehard - 11-25-2016
Andy Ruiz delays flight to New Zealand as relaxed Joseph Parker arrives to fine-tune for WBO title fight
Joseph Parker and trainer Kevin Barry have arrived in Auckland to fine-tune for the New Zealand heavyweight's WBO title fight against Andy Ruiz.
Andy Ruiz has delayed his arrival in New Zealand, looking to maximise the advantages of his altitude training camp for his world title clash with Joseph Parker.
Parker flew into Auckland on Friday from Las Vegas, excited to be home for the biggest challenge of his career with the WBO title at stake in Auckland on December 10.
Ruiz had planned to arrive in Auckland this weekend but he and trainer Abel Sanchez have rethought their plans.
Sanchez, who trains his stable of fighters at Big Bear, more than 2100m up in the mountains behind Los Angeles, believes the benefits of working at altitude will last for 7-10 days.
That sees Ruiz now timed to arrive in Auckland on December 5.
The compromise for the Mexican heavyweight will be to quickly shrug off the effects of travel from the long haul across the Pacific.
He will also be in the unusual position of fighting with a new physique from his bootcamp training regime, a move that has already been questioned with legend Roy Jones Jnr believing Ruiz's considerable weight loss could affect his ability to take the heavy punches that are sure to come from Parker.
Ruiz's buildup is further complicated by Sanchez having to be in Moscow the week before the Auckland fight, to oversee Murat Gassiev's fight against fellow Russian Denis Lebedev for the WBA and IBF cruiserweight belts on December 3.
Sanchez plans a hectic travel schedule that will see him fly from Moscow back to Los Angeles and then on to Auckland.
Sanchez is no stranger to Ruiz but this is the first time he will work his corner on fight night.
Parker's last two rivals, Carlos Takam and Alexander Dimitrenkov, both arrived in Auckland more than two weeks out from their bouts, allowing plenty of time to adjust to local conditions for fights that had the IBF mandatory position on the line.
In contrast a relaxed Parker, mentally and physically on song, has kept to the routine that has brought him so much success at home during his unbeaten run over 21 fights that include 18 knockouts.
He has had eight weeks training in Vegas, a camp specifically designed to counter the considerable challenges of Ruiz's fast hands and deceptive movement, which he and trainer Kevin Barry have declared a success.
Now it's time for tapering. Parker believes a two-week fine-tuning period at home works best for him to round out his fight preparations.
He's even come in a day earlier this time - he has a bit on his plate, eager to catch up with his new-born baby girl.
- Stuff
RE: Parker vs Ruiz for WBO - diehard - 11-25-2016
Expectations Building to a Crescendo for Parker vs. Ruiz, Jr.
By: Eric Lunger
On December 10th at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, Joseph Parker (21-0, 18 KO’s) will step into the ring for the biggest fight of his young career.
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker with trainer Kevin Barry after defeating Russia's Alexander Dimitrenko. Burger King Road to the Title by Duco Boxing. Auckland, New Zealand. Saturday 1 October 2016. © Copyright Photo: Andrew Cornaga / http://www.photosport.nz
With the WBO world championship at stake, Parker and his trainer, former Olympic silver medalist Kevin Barry, have been working together towards this goal for over four years. He will face a tough, undefeated and well-prepared Andy Ruiz, Jr. (29-0, 19 KO’s). But remaining focused amid a number of distractions and expectations is the biggest challenge the young fighter from New Zealand must now overcome.
All fighters must minimize distractions in the final weeks leading up to a bout, but Parker has some unusual ones. First, is the best kind of distraction. On November 21st, Joseph’s long-time partner, Laine Tavita, gave birth in New Zealand to their first child, Elizabeth, while Joseph was finishing his final stretch of sparring in Las Vegas. Having a new baby in the midst of a run up to a title fight might be a distraction, or it might be the purest form of motivation to capture that belt.
Second, Parker faces enormous pressure in the form of public and press expectations in New Zealand. Duco Promotions, a New Zealand based company, is calling this bout a major moment in New Zealand Sporting history. The company has brought the WBO belt itself to the country, and launched it on its own publicity tour, with the local media tracking its whereabouts each day. In New Zealand, Parker is often called “Gentleman Joe,” an indication both of his kind and humble demeanor outside the ring, and the respect he has among his fellow Kiwis. Furthermore, Parker proudly inhabits his Samoan heritage, and that island nation has backed the fight financially in return for significant tourism advertising. In a sense, Andy Ruiz can roll into Auckland as the outsider, and just focus on his fight plan. Joseph, on the other hand, has the weight of expectations of two nations on his shoulders.
Third, HBO has picked up the fight, and it will be broadcast December 10th as the lead-in to the Crawford vs. Molina junior welterweight title clash in Omaha. When reached for comment, Kevin Barry characterized the fight this way: “This fight on paper could be the best Heavyweight match-up of the year. Both [guys] are undefeated, both are young, both have very fast hands and love to come forward in an explosive manner…. We are thrilled that HBO believes in this match-up and is showing it.” It’s a big stage, a world-wide television audience, in an era when the heavyweight division is about to catch fire.
And finally, there’s the fight itself.
Andy Ruiz is a very good heavyweight. While Barry has played down the significance of the trainers, when pressed on the issue by the New Zealand media, boxing fans notice when a fighter heads to Big Bear, CA, and begins training under Abel Sanchez. Parker and his team know that they will be facing the best that Andy Ruiz has been in his career, and that he will come into the fight with a serious game plan.
Joseph Parker faces some significant pressures and distractions as he makes his final preparations for December 10th. But that’s what you want, and need, if you are going to become heavyweight champion of the world.