By Norm Frauenheim-
It’s a good time to be a heavyweight. At least, it appears to be. The old flagship division is beginning to resurface with HMS Anthony Joshua’s stunning emergence to UK prominence with numbers impossible to ignore.
No matter how you add them up, Joshua is a force creating worldwide waves of interest in a weight class that just a few years ago looked as if it had sunk into rusting irrelevancy, a relic beyond restoration
If expectations for Joshua’s March 31 bout against Joseph Parker on March 31 in Cardiff, Wales are accurate – and there’s every reason to think they are, Joshua will have fought in front of nearly 250,000 fans over his last three bouts. According to various reports, he will have earned $65 million.
That’s not a relic. That’s relevancy.
Evident momentum suggests it will continue. The bout against Parker (Showtime 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT) for three key pieces to the heavyweight title represents a significant look at where it is and where it’s going. It isn’t Joshua’s biggest fight. That came in his epic stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko last April at London’s Wembley Stadium.
He turned in a mixed performance in a TKO of Carlos Takam in his subsequent appearance in October. It was forgettable, at least that’s what it will be if Joshua resumes what he believes is another step in his ascendancy to a title that has a nice ring to it. Maybe, the undisputed heavyweight title isn’t exactly what it used to be, but it still represents a crown jewel in sports history.
There’s no secret to how Joshua, the IBF and WBA belt holder, hopes to get there. First, Parker for the WBO title. Then, American Deontay Wilder for the WBC belt in what could Joshua’s first fight in the United States.
Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn sounded optimistic about the chances for Wilder-Joshua, saying a couple of days before Oscar Valdez’ bloody victory over Scott Quigg March 10 in Carson, Calif., that he thought it could happen later this year.
In the here-and-now, however, the key is Parker. Victory is a must and prohibitive betting odds say that’s a lock. More important, perhaps, is how he wins. That’s not fair to the likable and durable Parker, of course. But the primary questions before opening bell March 31 are about Wilder and Joshua.
“You’ve got to remember that a lot of that talk about me and Wilder started in 2017 after he beat Bermane Stiverne,” Joshua said this week in a conference call. “But I haven’t spoken much about it. I’ve got great people in my corner that handle the business while I focus on the handling of my boxing technique.
“We reached out to Deontay Wilder’s team before the fight with Joseph Parker was made. And once that fight didn’t happen, I put Wilder aside and focused solely on Parker.
“I’m not the one overlooking Joseph Parker and I’m not the one hooting and hollering about what’s happening next. I’m really focused on Parker because, as you know, if I don’t get past Parker, it slows down the train and derails everything we’re trying to achieve in terms of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.”
Can Parker surprise? Impossible to say. He’s durable, likable for his forthright manner and has a compelling story. He’s from New Zealand, a Kiwi born in Auckland to Samoan parents. He’s known as Parker to fight fans and Lupesoliai La’auliolemalietoa to the people in his parents’ home village, Faleula. He grew up boxing. His father, Dempsey, was named after American heavyweight great Jack Dempsey.
He grew up wanting to be like David Tua, the last good New Zealand heavyweight. But he’s a long way from home. New Zealand is known for the All Blacks, kind of the New York Yankees of worldwide rugby. Parker has a chance to show the Northern Hemisphere that there’s more to boxing in New Zealand than Mike Tyson’s Maori tattoo. But in front of a Joshua crowd that is bigger than some armies, nobody disputes how big that challenge really is.
“As we know, there’s no secret about it,’’ said Parker trainer Kevin Barry, who believes Parker is more mobile and quicker than Joshua. “This is the biggest test that Joe’s had in front of him. But I also believe that this is the biggest test that Anthony Joshua’s had in front of him. We are expecting a much better Anthony Joshua than the one that fought Klitschko.
“I think there’s a lot of improvement in him just as there’s a lot of improvement in Joe. We’re anticipating that the styles of both these guys are going to make for a real fan-friendly fight and a very exciting fight.”
Among the many unpredictable elements, however, here’s another one: Parker is coming off surgery to both elbows. He quietly underwent the twin procedure in December. He has told New Zealand media that he feels stronger. Surgery restored his power, he and Barry say.
But nobody will really know until opening bell against an emerging heavyweight with power, momentum, the crowd and a plan to go global. Fair or not, Parker just looks like a guy in Joshua’s way.
