10-21-2016, 05:27 PM
Joseph Parker favoured to beat Andy Ruiz as boxing experts digest WBO heavyweight title fight
Joseph Parker has the skills to beat Andy Ruiz and win the vacant WBO heavyweight belt, according to those in the know.
Confirmation of Joseph Parker's WBO heavyweight title fight against Andy Ruiz has generated big headlines with the feeling that the Kiwi can win.
The WBO officially sanctioned the fight at their annual conference in Puerto Rico on Friday with the fight set for Auckland on December 10.
The news generated extensive coverage in Britain given the belt was vacated by their troubled star Tyson Fury and for the fact that Parker was in the mix to fight England's Anthony Joshua for the IBF title.
All of the mainstream British media outlets covered off the fight being approved.
And in a heavyweight title scene clouded by politics in recent weeks as the battle for Fury's vacated WBA and WBO belts intensified, the New Zealand development was also welcomed in the United States and across the specialist boxing websites.
ESPN's Dan Rafael, arguably the best connected and respected writer in the business, suggested an edge to Parker as some analysis of the fight was added to the news angle.
Rafael said Parker had beaten "two fringe contenders in his last three fights" - a unanimous decision against Carlos Takam and "a stunningly one-sided third-round destruction of Alexander Dimitrenko".
Rafael said that was in contrast to Ruiz's recent activity.
"Ruiz has a far less impressive resume than Parker. He is coming off a lopsided 10-round decision win against journeyman Franklin Lawrence. Ruiz's most notable victories are a fourth-round knockout of former world title challenger Ray Austin in May and a 10-round decision win against former world titleholder Sergey Liakhovich, but they were both way past their best days," Rafael wrote.
Writing for the Bad Left Hook website, Patrick Stumberg noted the sometimes fragile mental state of Ruiz.
"He's undeniably skilled and significantly faster than his frame would suggest, but there's never any telling where his head is," Stumberg said of Ruiz, though he added a warning for Parker.
"Still, it's a good, competitive fight if Ruiz comes in focused. Parker's not a flawless fighter and, though he'll be massively favoured, this could be dangerous for him."
The Boxing247 website described the fight as "a solid match-up" with the venue offering Parker an obvious edge.
"Parker, unbeaten at 21-0(18) will have home advantage, while Mexican/American Ruiz Jnr, 29-0(19) will be having his first fight outside of America since 2013, when he boxed Tor Hamer in China."
In the United States, Fightclub25, said Parker faced the toughest schedule of any heavyweight if he could go through Ruiz, David Haye and IBF champion Anthony Joshua.
"He has his work cut out for him but we think he's up for the task. He trains hard and works hard," they said.
"Ruiz is no pushover and Parker will have to utilise his footwork, hand speed and ringmanship. It's not going to be a walk in the park."
Over at Boxingnews24, the well-informed and highly opinionated Scott Gilfoid believed the decision by Parker's handlers to target the WBO route and confront Ruiz was more sensible for the Kiwi right now than taking on Joshua in Britain.
Parker has effectively given up his mandatory rights to fight Joshua with this latest move though, if he wins against Ruiz, a more lucrative unification fight with Joshua looms.
"It's a better deal for Parker to fight the 27-year-old Ruiz for the vacant WBO belt than facing Joshua. The main reason for that is because Parker can fight in front of his own boxing fans in New Zealand rather than being stuck fighting in the UK in front of a large group of Joshua's loyal fans," Gilfoid wrote.
"A fight between Joshua and Parker can still take place in the future at some point, but under much more favourable conditions for Parker. The last thing that Parker needs is to be in a position where he's fighting in front of a large horde of Joshua fans in the UK where he might need a knockout to ensure that he get his hand raised at the end of the fight."
Reports in Australia noted Parker fight and highlighted the potential for a huge day in trans-Tasman boxing on December 10 with Aussie Lucas Browne in negotiations to fight former world champ Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg on that day, with the WBA belt potentially at stake.
- Stuff
Joseph Parker has the skills to beat Andy Ruiz and win the vacant WBO heavyweight belt, according to those in the know.
Confirmation of Joseph Parker's WBO heavyweight title fight against Andy Ruiz has generated big headlines with the feeling that the Kiwi can win.
The WBO officially sanctioned the fight at their annual conference in Puerto Rico on Friday with the fight set for Auckland on December 10.
The news generated extensive coverage in Britain given the belt was vacated by their troubled star Tyson Fury and for the fact that Parker was in the mix to fight England's Anthony Joshua for the IBF title.
All of the mainstream British media outlets covered off the fight being approved.
And in a heavyweight title scene clouded by politics in recent weeks as the battle for Fury's vacated WBA and WBO belts intensified, the New Zealand development was also welcomed in the United States and across the specialist boxing websites.
ESPN's Dan Rafael, arguably the best connected and respected writer in the business, suggested an edge to Parker as some analysis of the fight was added to the news angle.
Rafael said Parker had beaten "two fringe contenders in his last three fights" - a unanimous decision against Carlos Takam and "a stunningly one-sided third-round destruction of Alexander Dimitrenko".
Rafael said that was in contrast to Ruiz's recent activity.
"Ruiz has a far less impressive resume than Parker. He is coming off a lopsided 10-round decision win against journeyman Franklin Lawrence. Ruiz's most notable victories are a fourth-round knockout of former world title challenger Ray Austin in May and a 10-round decision win against former world titleholder Sergey Liakhovich, but they were both way past their best days," Rafael wrote.
Writing for the Bad Left Hook website, Patrick Stumberg noted the sometimes fragile mental state of Ruiz.
"He's undeniably skilled and significantly faster than his frame would suggest, but there's never any telling where his head is," Stumberg said of Ruiz, though he added a warning for Parker.
"Still, it's a good, competitive fight if Ruiz comes in focused. Parker's not a flawless fighter and, though he'll be massively favoured, this could be dangerous for him."
The Boxing247 website described the fight as "a solid match-up" with the venue offering Parker an obvious edge.
"Parker, unbeaten at 21-0(18) will have home advantage, while Mexican/American Ruiz Jnr, 29-0(19) will be having his first fight outside of America since 2013, when he boxed Tor Hamer in China."
In the United States, Fightclub25, said Parker faced the toughest schedule of any heavyweight if he could go through Ruiz, David Haye and IBF champion Anthony Joshua.
"He has his work cut out for him but we think he's up for the task. He trains hard and works hard," they said.
"Ruiz is no pushover and Parker will have to utilise his footwork, hand speed and ringmanship. It's not going to be a walk in the park."
Over at Boxingnews24, the well-informed and highly opinionated Scott Gilfoid believed the decision by Parker's handlers to target the WBO route and confront Ruiz was more sensible for the Kiwi right now than taking on Joshua in Britain.
Parker has effectively given up his mandatory rights to fight Joshua with this latest move though, if he wins against Ruiz, a more lucrative unification fight with Joshua looms.
"It's a better deal for Parker to fight the 27-year-old Ruiz for the vacant WBO belt than facing Joshua. The main reason for that is because Parker can fight in front of his own boxing fans in New Zealand rather than being stuck fighting in the UK in front of a large group of Joshua's loyal fans," Gilfoid wrote.
"A fight between Joshua and Parker can still take place in the future at some point, but under much more favourable conditions for Parker. The last thing that Parker needs is to be in a position where he's fighting in front of a large horde of Joshua fans in the UK where he might need a knockout to ensure that he get his hand raised at the end of the fight."
Reports in Australia noted Parker fight and highlighted the potential for a huge day in trans-Tasman boxing on December 10 with Aussie Lucas Browne in negotiations to fight former world champ Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg on that day, with the WBA belt potentially at stake.
- Stuff