BBN offer readers a breakdown of the unique heavyweight showdown between two unbeaten world champions in Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker
WBA Super, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (20-0) and WBO world champ Joseph Parker (24-0) will go head to head in a unification fight at the Principality Stadium in Wales this Easter weekend.
It was over 30 years ago in 1987 when two unbeaten world heavyweight champions last met in the ring when Mike Tyson defeated Tony Tucker on points in Las Vegas.
This is exactly the kind of fight that fans wanted to see AJ in after he dispatched of Wladimir Klitschko in the penultimate round of their epic Wembley Stadium super-fight almost one year ago.
Joshua is the bookies favourite with betting sites offering anything between 1/12 to 1/6 for an AJ win.
Parker, despite being an unbeaten world champion, is seen as only having an outside chance of obtaining a win over the divisional kingpin in his own backyard with betting odds of 32/5 on some sites.
Although he has had the experience of fighting in the UK before when he beat Hughie Fury on points in the first defence of his WBO belt last September, the moment will be huge for Parker and unlike any other fight he has been in.
The Kiwi will be performing in front of 80,000 spectators and that number is daunting enough but add to the fact that those in attendance will all be vocal AJ fans and it will become even more intimidating experience for him on the night.
AJ sees this fight as a stepping stone onto further greatness with WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder lying in wait, whereas Parker sees this as his career-defining fight.
Joshua has immense power with a 100 per cent KO ratio recorded but doesn’t possess that one-punch KO power that can ice an opponent cold. However, the strength in this fight will lie with the Londoner as Parker boasts a lesser 75% ratio, which is still a decent record, but hasn’t knocked anyone out for 18 months.
Stats
Anthony Joshua Joseph Parker
Age: 28 Age: 26
Height: 6’6” Height: 6’4”
Fights: 20 Fights: 25
Won: 20 Won: 25
KO’s: 20 KO’s 22
Lost: 0 Lost: 0
Drawn: 0 Drawn: 0
Rounds: 65 Rounds: 123
Form
Anthony Joshua’s last five fights:
WIN vs Carlos Takam – TKO 10
WIN vs Wladimir Klitschko – TKO 11
WIN vs Eric Molina – TKO 3
WIN vs Dominic Breazeale – TKO 7
WIN vs Charles Martin – KO 2
Joseph Parker’s last five fights:
WIN vs Hughie Fury – MD 12
WIN vs Razvan Cojanu – UD 12
WIN vs Andy Ruiz Jr – MD 12
WIN vs Alexander Dimitrenko – KO 3
WIN vs Solomon Haumano – TKO 4
Verdict
Joshua has shown in his last few fights that he is very beatable, but the odds don’t stack up in the Kiwi’s favour, so it’s unlikely that Joseph Parker is the man to do it.
The bookies favourite Anthony Joshua didn’t like being dragged into the championship rounds against Dr. Steelhammer, so is going to want to finish the fight early, but the man in the opposite corner is an unbeaten world champion and deserves respect.
AJ will try to end the fight as soon as he senses a moment of weakness from Parker, but that likely won’t come until the middle rounds as a testament to his boxing skills and ring savvy.
A safe bet would be for an AJ stoppage win but whether that will come in the first six rounds or the last six rounds remains hard to predict.