12-31-2017, 09:43 AM
Eddie Hearn hits back at Joseph Parker, questioning Kiwi heavyweight's chin and composure
British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is incredulous that Joseph Parker is questioning the jaw of Anthony Joshua as they look to seal a world heavyweight unification fight.
Eddie Hearn has thrown the mind games back at Joseph Parker, questioning the Kiwi heavyweight's chin and artillery for a unification fight with Anthony Joshua.
He also wonders if Parker can handle the pressures that will come with a stadium fight where the crowd could number around 80,000.
Hearn and Parker's promoter David Higgins are locked in final negotiations for the fight. They have a contract in place and are just working on the final details to sign it with Higgins likely to head to London this week to sort that out.
Parker and Higgins have aggressively pursued Joshua to flush him out, repeatedly claiming the WBA and IBF champion has a "glass chin" and is susceptible to being floored.
Hearn did more than dismiss that – he turned it around on Parker, the WBO belt holder.
"People talk about Joseph Parker's chin like he has this great chin. The truth is we have no idea about Joseph Parker's chin because he has never been hit by a big-punching heavyweight," Hearn told Stuff.
"Carlos Takam is not a puncher, he's a strong man; Razvan Cojanu, you can't really take any notice of; Andy Ruiz is not really a big puncher; Hughie Fury certainly isn't.
"If Joseph Parker has a great chin, this could be the fight of the year. But let's see how he reacts when he gets hit on the chin by Anthony Joshua. That's the fascinating thing."
Hearn argued that Joshua's gutsy win over Wladimir Klitschko showed the strength of his jaw as he survived a sixth round knockdown to get up and beat the former champion.
"He had to come through hell in that fight, come off the floor from a right hand that would have decked everybody in the division," Hearn said.
"David Higgins is doing a great job trying to ruffle the feathers. But I completely disagree with what he says about AJ's chin, I think in the Klitschko fight he showed he has a remarkable chin. He got buzzed and he went down but he got up and he was fine. He got hit with some huge hits in that fight."
Hearn is quietly confident he and Higgins can get the promotion across the line and says it is a fight the division and the sport wants and needs.
"Champions should be fighting champions, it's as simple as that. This is a very, very big fight. This is a legacy fight. Anthony wants to be the undisputed champion of the world, so this is a very important step to do that," Hearn said, adding the occasion demanded a fitting venue. That detail still has to be confirmed with Cardiff, London and Manchester in the mix, along with some "quirky alternatives".
"It's a unified title fight between two young, fast, dangerous, unbeaten heavyweight world champions, so to do it in an arena and not a stadium, I'd get lynched.
"It's my job and David Higgins' job to maximise the revenue for the fighters. My gut feeling is it will be outdoors in the UK."
Test of composure
Hearn felt the size of the event would test Parker's composure, examinations Joshua had come through against Klitschko at Wembley (90,000 attendance) and Takam in Cardiff (78,000).
"Can Parker deal with the pressure? That's only something we will find out on the night. He will never have or never will experience anything like this. Only the special fighters are capable of experiencing it and rising above it and actually performing.
"I don't think Parker will crumble but will he lose his head? Quite possibly. If he doesn't and he can execute his game plan, then he may be a very special talent. I think Parker is a lot better fighter than he has looked in his last couple of fights, everybody in boxing knows that. But can he execute that performance under this sort of pressure? That's what everybody's asking, because we know AJ can."
Stylistically, Hearn believes the fight could be a cracker with the two monsters liking to go at it toe-to-toe.
"It's a very dangerous fight for both fighters, they have great styles for each other. Joseph Parker and his team will fancy this fight because he will know that AJ likes to stand and trade and get hit. Also AJ and his team know that if someone is willing to take chances, then they are going to get hit and AJ is technically a lot better than some tend to think
"Both fighters can punch and they may get hurt. But I just feel AJ's punching power and speed is underrated and I'm not sure whether Parker has the artillery to do enough damage if there is a gunfight. If they are standing in a gunfight and they are trading up, then I have to pick my man all day long."
Hearn said he had enjoyed working with the "unorthodox" Higgins but the test would come now as they poured over the fine print to seal the deal in the coming days. He had been amused by some of the banter and conceded the "glass chin" tactics had annoyed Joshua. But he warned against stirring the beast too much.
"They are doing a good job of getting under AJ's skin and he wants to knock Joseph Parker out, simple as that. I wouldn't say it has become personal yet, but it is getting there, Hearn said.
"It's going to be interesting because we haven't really seen that with AJ before. So I'm excited to get this over the line and I'm excited for the buildup as well.
"There have been times when AJ has said to me about Higgins, 'who is this guy?' But he (Higgins) has got the attention and anything that makes the fight bigger, I'm all up for. I hope he brings that quirkiness with him to the press conferences but he may need his security if he pushes too many buttons on AJ."
- Stuff
British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is incredulous that Joseph Parker is questioning the jaw of Anthony Joshua as they look to seal a world heavyweight unification fight.
Eddie Hearn has thrown the mind games back at Joseph Parker, questioning the Kiwi heavyweight's chin and artillery for a unification fight with Anthony Joshua.
He also wonders if Parker can handle the pressures that will come with a stadium fight where the crowd could number around 80,000.
Hearn and Parker's promoter David Higgins are locked in final negotiations for the fight. They have a contract in place and are just working on the final details to sign it with Higgins likely to head to London this week to sort that out.
Parker and Higgins have aggressively pursued Joshua to flush him out, repeatedly claiming the WBA and IBF champion has a "glass chin" and is susceptible to being floored.
Hearn did more than dismiss that – he turned it around on Parker, the WBO belt holder.
"People talk about Joseph Parker's chin like he has this great chin. The truth is we have no idea about Joseph Parker's chin because he has never been hit by a big-punching heavyweight," Hearn told Stuff.
"Carlos Takam is not a puncher, he's a strong man; Razvan Cojanu, you can't really take any notice of; Andy Ruiz is not really a big puncher; Hughie Fury certainly isn't.
"If Joseph Parker has a great chin, this could be the fight of the year. But let's see how he reacts when he gets hit on the chin by Anthony Joshua. That's the fascinating thing."
Hearn argued that Joshua's gutsy win over Wladimir Klitschko showed the strength of his jaw as he survived a sixth round knockdown to get up and beat the former champion.
"He had to come through hell in that fight, come off the floor from a right hand that would have decked everybody in the division," Hearn said.
"David Higgins is doing a great job trying to ruffle the feathers. But I completely disagree with what he says about AJ's chin, I think in the Klitschko fight he showed he has a remarkable chin. He got buzzed and he went down but he got up and he was fine. He got hit with some huge hits in that fight."
Hearn is quietly confident he and Higgins can get the promotion across the line and says it is a fight the division and the sport wants and needs.
"Champions should be fighting champions, it's as simple as that. This is a very, very big fight. This is a legacy fight. Anthony wants to be the undisputed champion of the world, so this is a very important step to do that," Hearn said, adding the occasion demanded a fitting venue. That detail still has to be confirmed with Cardiff, London and Manchester in the mix, along with some "quirky alternatives".
"It's a unified title fight between two young, fast, dangerous, unbeaten heavyweight world champions, so to do it in an arena and not a stadium, I'd get lynched.
"It's my job and David Higgins' job to maximise the revenue for the fighters. My gut feeling is it will be outdoors in the UK."
Test of composure
Hearn felt the size of the event would test Parker's composure, examinations Joshua had come through against Klitschko at Wembley (90,000 attendance) and Takam in Cardiff (78,000).
"Can Parker deal with the pressure? That's only something we will find out on the night. He will never have or never will experience anything like this. Only the special fighters are capable of experiencing it and rising above it and actually performing.
"I don't think Parker will crumble but will he lose his head? Quite possibly. If he doesn't and he can execute his game plan, then he may be a very special talent. I think Parker is a lot better fighter than he has looked in his last couple of fights, everybody in boxing knows that. But can he execute that performance under this sort of pressure? That's what everybody's asking, because we know AJ can."
Stylistically, Hearn believes the fight could be a cracker with the two monsters liking to go at it toe-to-toe.
"It's a very dangerous fight for both fighters, they have great styles for each other. Joseph Parker and his team will fancy this fight because he will know that AJ likes to stand and trade and get hit. Also AJ and his team know that if someone is willing to take chances, then they are going to get hit and AJ is technically a lot better than some tend to think
"Both fighters can punch and they may get hurt. But I just feel AJ's punching power and speed is underrated and I'm not sure whether Parker has the artillery to do enough damage if there is a gunfight. If they are standing in a gunfight and they are trading up, then I have to pick my man all day long."
Hearn said he had enjoyed working with the "unorthodox" Higgins but the test would come now as they poured over the fine print to seal the deal in the coming days. He had been amused by some of the banter and conceded the "glass chin" tactics had annoyed Joshua. But he warned against stirring the beast too much.
"They are doing a good job of getting under AJ's skin and he wants to knock Joseph Parker out, simple as that. I wouldn't say it has become personal yet, but it is getting there, Hearn said.
"It's going to be interesting because we haven't really seen that with AJ before. So I'm excited to get this over the line and I'm excited for the buildup as well.
"There have been times when AJ has said to me about Higgins, 'who is this guy?' But he (Higgins) has got the attention and anything that makes the fight bigger, I'm all up for. I hope he brings that quirkiness with him to the press conferences but he may need his security if he pushes too many buttons on AJ."
- Stuff