12-04-2016, 12:01 PM
Joseph Parker of Andy Ruiz? The matchmakers have their say on the WBO heavyweight title fight
They're the men who know the strengths and weaknesses of fighters, the styles that make contests, and the power of the cornermen. So who better to run the rule over the WBO heavyweight title fight than the matchmakers for Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz? Here's how they see Saturday's showdown in Auckland.
STUART DUNCAN (DUCO EVENTS) - Joseph Parker
Andy Ruiz is favourite going into the fight but if Joseph Parker can perform according to the plan then Joe wins the WBO belt.
I base that favouritism factor on Ruiz's experience. The numbers don't lie – he's got more rounds under his belt.
But Joseph can definitely win using the key strengths in his own style.
He has a physical advantage but has to use the jab as a weapon, not as a range-finder. If he does that successfully, the jab opens up other punches and combinations which trainer Kevin Barry has been working on.
I see this as similar to the Carlos Takam fight in terms of difficulties though Ruiz brings more pressure than Takam and he's a fresher fighter.
Joe has to improve on what he did against Takam – he mustn't go back in a straight line, when he's going backwards he has got to peel off to the sides and then counter-attack, making good use of angles.
That's basically the blueprint on how to beat Ruiz. I'm not divulging top secret information here.
Ruiz is a little bit predictable, he does similar things round-in, round-out and that plays into Joe's favour.
But make no mistake, Ruiz is tough and this is going to be a very good, hard-fought battle. He who throws the most punches wins.
Will it go the distance? There are two big punchers here so commonsense tells me no.
Andy Ruiz has an excellent tactician in his corner in Abel Sanchez. I know Abel extremely well. He's one of the true gentlemen. You can't buy a bag full of experience but this guy has actually got the runs on the board when you look at his champions.
Abel is able to polish skills and bring the best out of his fighters but, in saying that, Abel doesn't have a wand in his back pocket and you can't transform a boxer in 60 days and that's all he's had with Ruiz.
Let's be realists. Abel has just had the Genady Golovkin fight and where is he this weekend, he's in Moscow with Murat Gassiev for another world title fight. I'm not sure that's ideal preparation for Ruiz. He hasn't been the sole focus, he's not first cab off the rank, he's not second cab off the rank, he's playing third fiddle.
Reports of Ruiz's weight loss must also be questioned. When he's fought his best, he's been at his biggest. The focus has been to strip him down in weight and I don't think that works in his favour either. Stamina isn't what he needs, he needs bully power, that's what's won him fights.
I'm quietly confident. I believe Joseph can win the fight late in the rounds.
I have faith in Kevin Barry as a coach. I have faith in Kevin Barry's ability to direct the traffic through the course of the rounds. That's the key strength – you need to have a tactician in your corner in this fight.
Kevin's ability to steer the traffic against Ruiz is going to be as much of a catalyst to win the fight as Joe's skills are going to be.
Would this be a fight I'd put in front of Joe if the WBO belt wasn't on the line? Yes, most definitely.
I'm not into the name and shame game but I can tell you there have been a lot of top 10 fighters who have been offered good money to fight Joseph Parker.
They haven't wanted it. That had nothing to do with the finances, it had more to do with them seeing Joe as a dangerous fighter.
The thing about Duco is they haven't wanted to simply get Joseph Parker into a position to have a shot at a world title – that's dangerous, people leave in ambulances with that attitude. They have always been about getting Joseph Parker into a position to win a world title. I believe that we are going to realise on that focus on December 10.
BRAD GOODMAN (TOP RANK) - Andy Ruiz
This is going to be a tremendous fight and we have high expectations for Andy Ruiz in Auckland.
We know Joseph Parker is a very, very solid guy who is well coached. I've known Kevin Barry for a long time and I have a lot of respect for him.
There's been a lot of talk about Andy in the past but with Andy now being up in Big Bear and training with Abel Sanchez, I think he is a completely different fighter with his confidence levels, his dedication and the proper sparring.
So we're very happy where everything stands as of right now in our corner.
There is no way around anything up there in Big Bear – all you do is train and sacrifice your body. Throughout his career, the one thing Andy has had problems with was dedication. He was always the boss, always wanted to go with his time, do whatever he wanted, slack off if he wanted to. But Abel doesn't play any games like that – it's either his way or you're out of there.
I think Andy respects that and Abel has got the best out of him in the amount of time he has been up there. Do we wish we could have had a little bit more time? Probably. But there are no excuses, Andy is in great shape and he's ready to go. He's very confident.
When this fight was put to us our head matchmaker Bruce Trampler was very confident right off the bat. His mentality was this was a better fight stylistically for Andy than the one against Hughie Fury which had fallen through. We sat down as a team, discussed it and told Bob Arum we believed this was the perfect route to go.
It's a big fight for Joseph and Andy because there's a lot at stake with a world title and what happens beyond this.
You look at these two guys, you look at Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder – they're young guys and this is going to be the future. In the next couple of years the heavyweight division is going to be fun because all of these guys are basically on the same level ... I wouldn't favour one guy over the next and there is the potential for some good rivalries.
The timing of this fight is right for Andy. He needs some kind of incentive, something to get him motivated. And this is something that he is motivated for – he knows how big it is.
So the way I see it, it's both guys having that same mentality and that means one heck of a fight.
I'll admit that Joseph has progressed a little bit more where Andy hasn't but, again, it was because of dedication. Andy didn't sacrifice himself. He has now and you'll see that he's in tremendous shape, it's the best shape he has ever been in.
Joseph is powerful and probably the better puncher. But Andy has better all-round boxing skills. His physique is very, very deceiving. Even when he was much heavier he had fast hands and with the weight loss and the training, he is even going to be quicker.
It's a very intriguing fight. You have the boxer in Andy versus the puncher in Joe.
It could go the distance but if there is a stoppage, I think Andy may stop Joe late in the fight, a wear-you-down type of thing.
I thought Joseph was a bit sloppy against Carlos Takam but I don't just judge him on that, look at his other fights and he's a very powerful guy.
Andy knows it's a solid fight, he's not taking anything for granted. He's going out there to do what he's supposed to do. We are behind him 100 per cent and we're confident he's going to bring the title back.
TALE OF THE TAPE
JOSEPH PARKER
Born: Auckland, NZ
Nationality: New Zealand
Age: 24
Fights: Orthodox
Height: 1.93m
Reach: 1.93m
Pro debut: 2012
Record: 21-0 (18Kos)
Rounds boxed: 87
K0s: 86%
Rankings: WBO 1, Boxrec 5
Heavyweight belts: WBO Oriental, WBO Africa, WBC Eurasia, OPBF, WBA Oceania, PABA, NZBF.
ANDY RUIZ
Born: Imperial, California, USA
Nationality: Mexico
Age: 27
Fights: Orthodox
Height: 1.85m
Reach: 1.85m
Pro debut: 2009
Record: 29-0 (19 KOs)
Round boxed: 116
KOs: 66%
Rankings: WBO 3, Boxrec 21
Heavyweight belts: WBO intercontinental, NABF.
- Stuff
They're the men who know the strengths and weaknesses of fighters, the styles that make contests, and the power of the cornermen. So who better to run the rule over the WBO heavyweight title fight than the matchmakers for Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz? Here's how they see Saturday's showdown in Auckland.
STUART DUNCAN (DUCO EVENTS) - Joseph Parker
Andy Ruiz is favourite going into the fight but if Joseph Parker can perform according to the plan then Joe wins the WBO belt.
I base that favouritism factor on Ruiz's experience. The numbers don't lie – he's got more rounds under his belt.
But Joseph can definitely win using the key strengths in his own style.
He has a physical advantage but has to use the jab as a weapon, not as a range-finder. If he does that successfully, the jab opens up other punches and combinations which trainer Kevin Barry has been working on.
I see this as similar to the Carlos Takam fight in terms of difficulties though Ruiz brings more pressure than Takam and he's a fresher fighter.
Joe has to improve on what he did against Takam – he mustn't go back in a straight line, when he's going backwards he has got to peel off to the sides and then counter-attack, making good use of angles.
That's basically the blueprint on how to beat Ruiz. I'm not divulging top secret information here.
Ruiz is a little bit predictable, he does similar things round-in, round-out and that plays into Joe's favour.
But make no mistake, Ruiz is tough and this is going to be a very good, hard-fought battle. He who throws the most punches wins.
Will it go the distance? There are two big punchers here so commonsense tells me no.
Andy Ruiz has an excellent tactician in his corner in Abel Sanchez. I know Abel extremely well. He's one of the true gentlemen. You can't buy a bag full of experience but this guy has actually got the runs on the board when you look at his champions.
Abel is able to polish skills and bring the best out of his fighters but, in saying that, Abel doesn't have a wand in his back pocket and you can't transform a boxer in 60 days and that's all he's had with Ruiz.
Let's be realists. Abel has just had the Genady Golovkin fight and where is he this weekend, he's in Moscow with Murat Gassiev for another world title fight. I'm not sure that's ideal preparation for Ruiz. He hasn't been the sole focus, he's not first cab off the rank, he's not second cab off the rank, he's playing third fiddle.
Reports of Ruiz's weight loss must also be questioned. When he's fought his best, he's been at his biggest. The focus has been to strip him down in weight and I don't think that works in his favour either. Stamina isn't what he needs, he needs bully power, that's what's won him fights.
I'm quietly confident. I believe Joseph can win the fight late in the rounds.
I have faith in Kevin Barry as a coach. I have faith in Kevin Barry's ability to direct the traffic through the course of the rounds. That's the key strength – you need to have a tactician in your corner in this fight.
Kevin's ability to steer the traffic against Ruiz is going to be as much of a catalyst to win the fight as Joe's skills are going to be.
Would this be a fight I'd put in front of Joe if the WBO belt wasn't on the line? Yes, most definitely.
I'm not into the name and shame game but I can tell you there have been a lot of top 10 fighters who have been offered good money to fight Joseph Parker.
They haven't wanted it. That had nothing to do with the finances, it had more to do with them seeing Joe as a dangerous fighter.
The thing about Duco is they haven't wanted to simply get Joseph Parker into a position to have a shot at a world title – that's dangerous, people leave in ambulances with that attitude. They have always been about getting Joseph Parker into a position to win a world title. I believe that we are going to realise on that focus on December 10.
BRAD GOODMAN (TOP RANK) - Andy Ruiz
This is going to be a tremendous fight and we have high expectations for Andy Ruiz in Auckland.
We know Joseph Parker is a very, very solid guy who is well coached. I've known Kevin Barry for a long time and I have a lot of respect for him.
There's been a lot of talk about Andy in the past but with Andy now being up in Big Bear and training with Abel Sanchez, I think he is a completely different fighter with his confidence levels, his dedication and the proper sparring.
So we're very happy where everything stands as of right now in our corner.
There is no way around anything up there in Big Bear – all you do is train and sacrifice your body. Throughout his career, the one thing Andy has had problems with was dedication. He was always the boss, always wanted to go with his time, do whatever he wanted, slack off if he wanted to. But Abel doesn't play any games like that – it's either his way or you're out of there.
I think Andy respects that and Abel has got the best out of him in the amount of time he has been up there. Do we wish we could have had a little bit more time? Probably. But there are no excuses, Andy is in great shape and he's ready to go. He's very confident.
When this fight was put to us our head matchmaker Bruce Trampler was very confident right off the bat. His mentality was this was a better fight stylistically for Andy than the one against Hughie Fury which had fallen through. We sat down as a team, discussed it and told Bob Arum we believed this was the perfect route to go.
It's a big fight for Joseph and Andy because there's a lot at stake with a world title and what happens beyond this.
You look at these two guys, you look at Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder – they're young guys and this is going to be the future. In the next couple of years the heavyweight division is going to be fun because all of these guys are basically on the same level ... I wouldn't favour one guy over the next and there is the potential for some good rivalries.
The timing of this fight is right for Andy. He needs some kind of incentive, something to get him motivated. And this is something that he is motivated for – he knows how big it is.
So the way I see it, it's both guys having that same mentality and that means one heck of a fight.
I'll admit that Joseph has progressed a little bit more where Andy hasn't but, again, it was because of dedication. Andy didn't sacrifice himself. He has now and you'll see that he's in tremendous shape, it's the best shape he has ever been in.
Joseph is powerful and probably the better puncher. But Andy has better all-round boxing skills. His physique is very, very deceiving. Even when he was much heavier he had fast hands and with the weight loss and the training, he is even going to be quicker.
It's a very intriguing fight. You have the boxer in Andy versus the puncher in Joe.
It could go the distance but if there is a stoppage, I think Andy may stop Joe late in the fight, a wear-you-down type of thing.
I thought Joseph was a bit sloppy against Carlos Takam but I don't just judge him on that, look at his other fights and he's a very powerful guy.
Andy knows it's a solid fight, he's not taking anything for granted. He's going out there to do what he's supposed to do. We are behind him 100 per cent and we're confident he's going to bring the title back.
TALE OF THE TAPE
JOSEPH PARKER
Born: Auckland, NZ
Nationality: New Zealand
Age: 24
Fights: Orthodox
Height: 1.93m
Reach: 1.93m
Pro debut: 2012
Record: 21-0 (18Kos)
Rounds boxed: 87
K0s: 86%
Rankings: WBO 1, Boxrec 5
Heavyweight belts: WBO Oriental, WBO Africa, WBC Eurasia, OPBF, WBA Oceania, PABA, NZBF.
ANDY RUIZ
Born: Imperial, California, USA
Nationality: Mexico
Age: 27
Fights: Orthodox
Height: 1.85m
Reach: 1.85m
Pro debut: 2009
Record: 29-0 (19 KOs)
Round boxed: 116
KOs: 66%
Rankings: WBO 3, Boxrec 21
Heavyweight belts: WBO intercontinental, NABF.
- Stuff