Tonight at Wembley, with fans everywhere eagerly awaiting the Tyson Fury-Dillian Whyte clash, another big heavyweight showdown was all but announced. Joseph Parker and Joe Joyce went face to face, with promoter Frank Warren stating how the fight – “between the WBO number-one and number-two, a real fight” Is “almost there for July.”
Warren said the fight, one both guys really and truly want, will be a big stadium fight. Both Parker and Joyce showed respect for each other tonight, with Joyce saying “we should be fighting tonight.”
This one is indeed a hugely solid match-up and both guys deserve huge credit for agreeing to take what is a high-risk, high-reward fight. Both men have a solid chin and both men truly believe they can rule the world (for a second time in the case of former WBO heavyweight champ Parker).
Parker is arguably coming off a career-best performance, this his commanding rematch win over eternal warrior Dereck Chisora back in December. Joyce has been inactive as of late, “The Juggernaut” not having fought since his stoppage win over Carlos Takam last summer.
So who wins when Joyce and Parker collide, as they are so tantalizingly close to doing? Talk about a genuine 50-50 fight. This one could easily go either way, while this one could be a real battle.
Let’s hope that a 100 percent official fight announcement comes soon. As Warren said just minutes ago, Parker vs Joyce is a proper fight, a real fight.
30-year-old Parker of New Zealand is 30-2 with 21 KOs, the two losses coming via decision to Anthony Joshua and tonight’s world title challenger Whyte. 36-year-old Joyce of London is currently unbeaten at 13-0 with 12 of his wins coming via the short route.
