09-20-2017, 06:23 PM
The pros and cons of referee change for Joseph Parker
Joseph Parker is used to having his arm held high in victory by the referee. Will it happen in Manchester with his WBO belt on the line?
Joseph Parker's camp are trumpeting the removal of Terry O'Connor as referee for his WBO world heavyweight title defence in Manchester but there's the feel of a double-edged sword to the change.
Parker will still have a Brit as the third man in the ring at Manchester Arena on Sunday (NZT) with Marcus McDonell elevated from the judging bench to control the fight.
O'Connor is still involved, moving to running one of three scorecards in the judging team.
It's basically a shuffling of the deck chairs, a compromise, but one that Team Parker feel comfortable with and see it as a minor victory in the battle ahead of the real war.
Here are the pros and cons to the switch made under pressure by the British Boxing Board of Control.
Hughie Fury certainly has the ability to win the WBO world heavyweight belt, especially if the fight goes the distance.
PROS
The Parker camp were never comfortable with O'Connor from the outset. They didn't like his recent history with Hughie Fury having refereed the big Brit's last two fights. It was a decent argument and eventually justified by their squeaky wheel approach of going public with it repeatedly – and infamously by promoter David Higgins' extraordinary outburst at Peter Fury, father and trainer to Hughie. Make enough noise and hope someone eventually listens, as they eventually did.
Privately there were also concerns about how O'Connor would control things and the referee will play a vital role in setting the tone of the fight with what he will allow and what he won't. Against an awkward fighter like Fury who will surely look to slow down the fight, keeping the bout active is essential for Parker.
The respected McDonnell brings almost as much experience as O'Connor and much of it is recent - McDonnell handled last weekend's WBO world middleweight title fight between Billy Joe Saunders and Willie Monroe Jr in London and this will be the fourth world title bout he has refereed in 2017.
If the fight is officiated in the right manner, Team Parker believe it will increase their man's chances of a knockout which they believe is very attainable against Fury.
Higgins maintains his energetic and unorthodox outing of the issue will emphasise the sensitivities of the subject at a time when boxing is in the spotlight again for the wrong reasons, after American judge Adalaide Byrd was suspended for her radical scorecard in last weekend's draw between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. The world is watching, so be on guard, is Higgins' worthy theory.
CONS
There still isn't the desired refereeing neutrality that Team Parker say was agreed on when the fight was confirmed after a long and frustrating process. Despite the change, the BBBoC have still stuck to their guns of having a local man in charge of the fight.
And it can be argued that O'Connor is now in a position of more influence being in charge of a pen rather the fight. Human nature would suggest he won't be the happiest boxing official right now, given the all the fuss made over his appointment and his subsequent demotion. But he is a veteran, a hugely experienced professional and deserves respect that he will act in a fair manner as his bosses have insisted from the outset.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to judging, especially title fights. One says the challenger has to earn the belt with a decidedly superior performance, anything marginally close suggests he's not done quite enough to claim the spoils from the champion. The other says the judges tend to look more favourably on the home fighter, unintentionally swayed by outside influences like the vocal home support. Parker had that levelled in him in his tight Auckland victories against Carlos Takam and Andy Ruiz.
So the risks remain for the Kiwi and the governing body, especially without the total neutrality that a fight of this stature surely demands.
CONCLUSION
This shuffle is a points victory to the Kiwi camp ahead of the fight but nothing more.
Parker, for the safety of his belt, needs a knockout victory in the ring. We have heard repeatedly in the buildup that he is capable of taking the referee out of the equation with his punching power and that clearly is the safest option in a title defence in his opponent's back yard.
Fury is skilled and has the ability to frustrate. He has a highly accurate jab that, combined with his elusive footwork, gives him the ability to rack up points.
A KO is still the safest way to go, for Joe.
- Stuff
Joseph Parker is used to having his arm held high in victory by the referee. Will it happen in Manchester with his WBO belt on the line?
Joseph Parker's camp are trumpeting the removal of Terry O'Connor as referee for his WBO world heavyweight title defence in Manchester but there's the feel of a double-edged sword to the change.
Parker will still have a Brit as the third man in the ring at Manchester Arena on Sunday (NZT) with Marcus McDonell elevated from the judging bench to control the fight.
O'Connor is still involved, moving to running one of three scorecards in the judging team.
It's basically a shuffling of the deck chairs, a compromise, but one that Team Parker feel comfortable with and see it as a minor victory in the battle ahead of the real war.
Here are the pros and cons to the switch made under pressure by the British Boxing Board of Control.
Hughie Fury certainly has the ability to win the WBO world heavyweight belt, especially if the fight goes the distance.
PROS
The Parker camp were never comfortable with O'Connor from the outset. They didn't like his recent history with Hughie Fury having refereed the big Brit's last two fights. It was a decent argument and eventually justified by their squeaky wheel approach of going public with it repeatedly – and infamously by promoter David Higgins' extraordinary outburst at Peter Fury, father and trainer to Hughie. Make enough noise and hope someone eventually listens, as they eventually did.
Privately there were also concerns about how O'Connor would control things and the referee will play a vital role in setting the tone of the fight with what he will allow and what he won't. Against an awkward fighter like Fury who will surely look to slow down the fight, keeping the bout active is essential for Parker.
The respected McDonnell brings almost as much experience as O'Connor and much of it is recent - McDonnell handled last weekend's WBO world middleweight title fight between Billy Joe Saunders and Willie Monroe Jr in London and this will be the fourth world title bout he has refereed in 2017.
If the fight is officiated in the right manner, Team Parker believe it will increase their man's chances of a knockout which they believe is very attainable against Fury.
Higgins maintains his energetic and unorthodox outing of the issue will emphasise the sensitivities of the subject at a time when boxing is in the spotlight again for the wrong reasons, after American judge Adalaide Byrd was suspended for her radical scorecard in last weekend's draw between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. The world is watching, so be on guard, is Higgins' worthy theory.
CONS
There still isn't the desired refereeing neutrality that Team Parker say was agreed on when the fight was confirmed after a long and frustrating process. Despite the change, the BBBoC have still stuck to their guns of having a local man in charge of the fight.
And it can be argued that O'Connor is now in a position of more influence being in charge of a pen rather the fight. Human nature would suggest he won't be the happiest boxing official right now, given the all the fuss made over his appointment and his subsequent demotion. But he is a veteran, a hugely experienced professional and deserves respect that he will act in a fair manner as his bosses have insisted from the outset.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to judging, especially title fights. One says the challenger has to earn the belt with a decidedly superior performance, anything marginally close suggests he's not done quite enough to claim the spoils from the champion. The other says the judges tend to look more favourably on the home fighter, unintentionally swayed by outside influences like the vocal home support. Parker had that levelled in him in his tight Auckland victories against Carlos Takam and Andy Ruiz.
So the risks remain for the Kiwi and the governing body, especially without the total neutrality that a fight of this stature surely demands.
CONCLUSION
This shuffle is a points victory to the Kiwi camp ahead of the fight but nothing more.
Parker, for the safety of his belt, needs a knockout victory in the ring. We have heard repeatedly in the buildup that he is capable of taking the referee out of the equation with his punching power and that clearly is the safest option in a title defence in his opponent's back yard.
Fury is skilled and has the ability to frustrate. He has a highly accurate jab that, combined with his elusive footwork, gives him the ability to rack up points.
A KO is still the safest way to go, for Joe.
- Stuff