Joseph Parker Facts
Former world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (29-2, 21KOs) once again makes the 11,000 mile trip to the UK to rematch with Derek Chisora (32-11, 23KOs) on December 18, six months on from his last visit.
In May this year, he survived an early knockdown to defeat 'WAR' Chisora on points in an entertaining heavyweight battle at the AO Arena in Manchester, which will be the same setting for the return match.
UK fight fans are very familiar with Parker as this will be his fifth fight on these shores. However, there's a lot more interesting facts about him, which you can discover below:
Joseph Dennis Parker was born on January 9, 1992, in South Auckland, New Zealand to parents Sala (mother) and Dempsey (father).
Joe was the middle child, with an older sister called Elizabeth and younger brother, John.
He grew up in Mangere in Auckland, and attended Marcellin College in the suburbs of Hillsborough.
Boxing always featured heavily in their household, inspired by their father, Dempsey, who was named after the legendary heavyweight from America. Growing up, Joe was taught by his father how to punch in combinations from the age of three. His mother was also a big influence in his success, once giving him the ultimatum, "Train hard or take up ballet!"
He looked up to local heros David Tua – an Olympic bronze medallist and world title contender – and three-time Olympian and middleweight world champion Maselino Masoe.
His first amateur fight was in 2004, aged 12, and it wasn't long before he progressed to winning major tournaments, starting with the New Zealand Golden Gloves in 2009, which he followed up with a second placing at the Elites National Championships, losing to rival Junior Fa.
When he turned 16, he began boxing internationally and his first major event was the AIBA Youth World Championships in Azerbaijan in 2010. His trainer Grant Arkle could not afford to go with him, so he was looked after by the Australian National Team instead. He won a bronze medal after losing a close contest to Filip Hrgovic in the semis. Currently at 14-0, the Croatian rival could be a potential future opponent for Parker, as well as Chisora, as he has been calling him out for two years now.
His amateur accolades were incredible, becoming a two-time national champion in 2010 and 2011; winning gold in the Arafura Games and China Open in 2011; also claiming gold in the Belgrade Winner Tournament in 2012. Prior to that, in 2010, he won a silver medal in the Youth Summer Olympics in Singapore, plus gold in the Youth World Championships in Baku.
During his 66-fight glittering amateur career, he shared the ring with numerous notable names – Johan Linde; Erik Pfeifer; Junior Fa; Zhilei Zhang; Tony Yoka; Filip Hrgovic; Frazer Clarke.
He made his pro debut in July 2012, scoring a second-round knockout of winning fighter Dean Garmonsway. His first four fights all ended in KOs and his sixth contest was against 60-fight veteran Frans Botha, which he won by TKO 2.
He won the New Zealand heavyweight title in his seventh fight with a consecutive second-round stoppage.
He was the first ever heavyweight boxer from New Zealand and the Pacific Islands to win a world title, when he defeated Andy Ruiz Jr to win the WBO belt in December 2016. The legendary Bob Fitzsimmons, though Timaru raised, was born in Cornwall.
Among the 10,000 spectators, that teemed through the Vector Arena's doors to watch his crowning glory, were All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Jerome Kaino, World Cup winning coach Sir Graham Henry, Warriors duo Manu Vatuvei and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Victoria Cross winner Willie Apiata and Olympic rowing champion Eric Murray. Parker's auntie, National Government minister Judith "Crusher" Collins, was part of the family entourage.
Parker goes by the high chief name of Lupesoliai La'auliolemalietoa, bestowed upon him by the paramount chief of the Faleula village in Samoa, which was given as a gift and a blessing from the village and Samoa. The Faleula village on the main island of Upolu is where his mother hails from, but emigrated with his father to New Zealand in the 1980s to find work.
He was the youngest person in history to be awarded Samoa's Order of Merit Award at the 2017 Government's Honours. The Prime Minister also commissioned a half-day holiday to celebrate Parker's world title win.
He is married to Laine Tavita, who gave birth to their daughter, Elizabeth Ah-Sue Sala, in October 2016, but Joe wasn't present because he was preparing for a fight in Las Vegas. He also has two more daughters; Shiloh Jasmine Parker was born in July 2018, then their third daughter, Michaela Florence Parker, was born on May 25, 2019, but once again Joe couldn't be there at the birth because he was in another training camp with Kevin Barry in Vegas.
The union with Kevin Barry was sealed by a promise of ensuring Joe ate his oatmeal in the mornings and attended church on Sundays, his father insisted before signing terms. Dempsey mentioned the condition when they met with the trainer and Sala added the importance of going to church, to which the Las Vegas-based coach agreed. Joe and Kevin formed a close bond, and he would stay with the family during camps, also becoming good friends with Barry's son too, who was also an integral part of the training team.
He split with Barry this year, shortly before the fight with Chisora in May, due to the logistics of Kevin being based in Las Vegas and Joe having a family home in New Zealand. "Without Kevin, I wouldn't be where I am today, together we made it to the very top, so it is with genuine sadness our partnership has come to an end. I know Kevin will always be in my corner." he said.
During lockdown, Parker and videographer Kerry Russell entertained the world with his hilarious videos posted on social media which mostly incorporated music and dancing, with the heavyweight reenacting film scenes and playing characters such as Hugh Grant's Prime Minister in Love Actually, McLovin from Superbad, and even a Grease duet with his wife.
He is a talented musician able to play a variety of instruments, most notably the guitar, but can also play the drums and piano. His other hobbies include fishing and golfing.
Parker's manager is David Higgins and he has trained with Andy Lee for his last two fights in England with Derek Chisora. He stays in Morecombe and counts fellow heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury as one of his closest friends.
His brother John, 27, followed him to the ring and is currently unbeaten in seven professional bouts with three knockouts. He was a national middleweight and two-time light-heavyweight amateur champion, ending his brief amateur career with 35 wins and just five losses. Also trained by Grant Arkle, he had his first amateur fight at 11-years-old whilst training at the Papatoetoe Boxing Club, and became a three-time North Island Golden Gloves champion in 2010, 2011, and 2012, predominantly winning every national tournament he entered in. He made his pro boxing debut on the undercard of his older brother's main event against Alexander Dimitrenko at the Vodafone Events Centre on October 1, 2016. He then had over three years away from the sport due to a wrist injury and personal commitments.
John praises his older brother Joe as his role model and hero, and Joe describes his younger brother's boxing style as "All-action!"
A regular churchgoer and family man, Joe has paid off his parents' home and honoured a boyhood promise to buy his brother John a new car if he ever became world heavyweight champion.
World Rankings
WBC #4
WBA #14
IBF #4
WBO #2
IBO #5
The Ring #5
TBRB #8
BoxRec #6
Roll of Honour
New Zealand heavyweight title
Interim PABA heavyweight title
PABA heavyweight title
WBO Oriental heavyweight title x2
WBO Africa heavyweight title
OPBF heavyweight title
WBO World heavyweight title
WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title