1 Apr 2018

Parker vs Joshua: The moments that mattered

12:51 pm on 1 April 2018

Opinion - Anthony Joshua proved too good for Joseph Parker in the biggest heavyweight boxing match of the year and New Zealand's second modern-day heavyweight title shot.

Anthony Joshua (L) of Great Britain and Joseph Parker (R) of New Zealand feel each other out in the first round of their heavyweight boxing unification bout at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, March 31, 2018.

Anthony Joshua, left, of Great Britain and New Zealander Joseph Parker. Photo: AFP

The Brit beat Parker by unanimous points decision and even the most generous Parker supporter can't have argued with the decision.

Parker did well and pushed Joshua through 12 rounds for the first time in his career, but couldn't beat the impressive AJ in Cardiff.

The referee had far too much say and did take out of one of Parker's attacking weapons - the ability to soften Joshua with body blows - but Joshua deserved his win.

Here are the moments that mattered.

Round one

From the opening bell, Joshua showed his tactics and broadcast loud and clear what he was going to do. He was going to set-up camp behind his world class jab, keep Parker at distance and wait for the Kiwi to come at him.

Parker hung back - probably a bit too much in hindsight - but that made sense too as Joshua had never gone 12 rounds and there were questions over his fitness and ability to stay powerful deep into a fight.

Round two

Joshua remained behind his jab and kept Parker at bay and outside his range. Parker kept busy, but wasn't close enough to do any damage and Joshua easily won another round.

Round three

The first big blow of the fight is landed by Joshua. AJ starts to attack and wins another round. It was a bit of a warning bell for Parker who knew his tactics weren't working and kicked him into gear.

Round four

Parker tried to get in and out quickly, but still wasn't landing anything. Joshua's defence and tactics made Parker look answerless, much like Parker has done with most throughout his career. Parker looked a bit ineffective, but both were looking to throw more which suited Parker.

Round five

Joshua continued to use his six-inch reach advantage, but Parker started to push inside. He was risking getting hit to upset Joshua and land some blows himself and he did. Joshua started to look a bit sloppy and was being screamed at to keep his shape. Parker picked up his first round.

Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker ,  IBF,WBA, WBA Super, IBO and WBO Heavyweight, Championship Fight, Principality Stadium.
31st March 2018

Parker's belt before he relinquished it to Joshua. Photo: Photosport

Round six

Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone really starts to make his mark on the bout. Parker, realising he's better getting in tight, starts to hunt Joshua and go after him. He puts the 20-0 fighter on the back foot and when he gets him to the rope starts to brawl.

Strangely Quartarone leaps in immediately. It started a pattern that had a big impact on the fight. Whenever the pair got in close, even before they were cuddling, the over-zealous referee jumped in. With Parker trying to lay into Joshua's body, this took one of his weapons off the table. Parker still wins the round and most have the bout 58-56 to Joshua, but Parker has the momentum.

Round seven

This was the defining round of the bout. Joshua stops letting Parker go after him and solidifies his defence. Quartarone again leaps in over and again and in one instance Joshua snots Parker with a big uppercut late as the pair were being broken up. He follows his late blow with a very cheeky smirk. Parker continues to attack, but Joshua wised up to his tactics and reacted accordingly. At best for Parker, this was a tied round and seemed to send Joshua back to his initial tactics.

Round eight

Parker looked fitter as Joshua starts to slow down and this should have been where Parker started to really attack. There were a handful of half opportunities that Joshua hadn't afforded him earlier, but they weren't taken.

Late in the round the pair trade big landing blows, but Joshua's left hook to Parker's face is arguably the cleanest hit of the night and swung the round in his favour.

Round nine

Parker's corner must have known he was behind and the tactics were always going to try and pounce in the last four rounds, but it never really came.

Parker and Joshua were both lighter than previous fights knowing how importance speed and fitness would be, but Parker couldn't wrestle any dominance. A generous Parker fan could have argued Parker won the round, but only just. You got the feeling he was leaving too much to do in the final three rounds. Joshua wasn't looking tired enough to get excited for Parker fans.

Round 10

Parker's left eye was leaking plenty of blood and he looked like he might have lost his sight in his leading eye as his bruise grew. That too should have forced Parker to up his attack and risk getting hit to land some blows himself.

He tried, arguably not enough, but Joshua was up to it and continued to stop the Kiwi getting inside. Joshua knew he had a lead and was able to nurse it home from here and take no risks.

Round 11

Parker needed a serious change of tactics by now. His plans were right earlier, but Joshua was up to it and Parker wasn't doing enough damage.

They did trade a decent blow each, but Parker needed to throw caution to the wind now and go 100 percent attack. He was never going to win a decision from here so needed to land more punches and sit Joshua on his bum.

That's obviously easier said than done and Joshua was clever enough to stay out of trouble.

Round 12

Parker had done plenty throughout and though it did little damage to a smart Joshua, Parker was starting to pay the price for his high work rate early.

He didn't have enough left in the tank to trouble Joshua or pull out a fairy-tale finish while Joshua was clever enough to focus on defence and throw the odd counter. Joshua was workmanlike and out-boxed Parker to the point where even the most pessimistic Joshua fan wasn't nervous at decision time.

Game over.

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