I'll pop in now for a quick summary of where I think Parker is at.
Potential 9.5/10.
Skills 8.7/10.
Defense 7/10
Work Ethic 10/10
Overall- 8/10
The right power shot is my main concern, and I'm in agreement that needs work. Not as much as people think though, as it only tends to be an issue when he knows that the opposition is weak and can be dominated. Hence the worry that if he goes in over confident he may be popped a good one. The chin of his though seems pretty solid, with a smile after the decent left counter Bergman popped him with. He's never been dropped, but I'd like to think he's not one of those fighters that gets by on having "granite chin" otherwise he'll earn himself a gatekeeper role in the division and end up taking paychecks.
I don't see that in Parker, he is enthusiastic, and that young exuberance comes out at times. Looking back, when there was a step up, he really changed styles, and was cautious, worked his way in with the jab, and measured up the time to attack very well. Look back on the videos of him fighting Minto for example. He took rounds, hardly got hit, and completely outboxed him. If Minto was fighting Joe next, Joe would size him up and go in all guns blazing, knowing he could dominate his opposite.
I firmly believe that a long camp, building into a top 20 fight, you'll see Joe come in with his head firmly on the job at hand, and all those short videos showing the double and triple speed jabs, the flurry of body shots, the liver punch and the infamous skip punch will be on show.
But I could be wrong, as I'm often told by my wife.
NakiFan
P.S
http://www.allthebestfights.com/parker-vs-bergman-full-fight-video-2016/
Potential 9.5/10.
Skills 8.7/10.
Defense 7/10
Work Ethic 10/10
Overall- 8/10
The right power shot is my main concern, and I'm in agreement that needs work. Not as much as people think though, as it only tends to be an issue when he knows that the opposition is weak and can be dominated. Hence the worry that if he goes in over confident he may be popped a good one. The chin of his though seems pretty solid, with a smile after the decent left counter Bergman popped him with. He's never been dropped, but I'd like to think he's not one of those fighters that gets by on having "granite chin" otherwise he'll earn himself a gatekeeper role in the division and end up taking paychecks.
I don't see that in Parker, he is enthusiastic, and that young exuberance comes out at times. Looking back, when there was a step up, he really changed styles, and was cautious, worked his way in with the jab, and measured up the time to attack very well. Look back on the videos of him fighting Minto for example. He took rounds, hardly got hit, and completely outboxed him. If Minto was fighting Joe next, Joe would size him up and go in all guns blazing, knowing he could dominate his opposite.
I firmly believe that a long camp, building into a top 20 fight, you'll see Joe come in with his head firmly on the job at hand, and all those short videos showing the double and triple speed jabs, the flurry of body shots, the liver punch and the infamous skip punch will be on show.
But I could be wrong, as I'm often told by my wife.
NakiFan
P.S
http://www.allthebestfights.com/parker-vs-bergman-full-fight-video-2016/