Heavyweights Collide in Manchester: Breaking Down the Parker-Fury Fight

Published

7 years ago

September 21, 2017

This weekend in the UK’s Manchester Arena, beltholder Joseph Parker (23-0) and rookie Hughie Fury (20-0) are set to squabble over a bauble sanctioned by a rankings organization that sees Christian Hammer as the world’s number two heavyweight contender.

As a heavyweight championship match it is a bad joke; as a crossroads fight for two of the division’s brightest prospects it is a deeply compelling meeting of styles and character.

If Tyson Fury was the unwanted stepchild of British boxing, Hughie’s position is even less enviable: the unwanted stepchild’s cousin. Hailing from the proud Fury fighting clan, Hughie is son to Peter, the unlikely but brilliant mastermind of Tyson’s rise to heavyweight title and the strategist who engineered Tyson’s brilliant championship winning performance. Tyson and Hughie have both described the other as more akin to a brother than a cousin, but it is a fact that Hughie has labored in his larger cousin’s larger shadow. Lyrical and controversial outbursts have assured the more experienced Fury more column inches than his less colorful, better adjusted younger relative.

Joseph Parker, too, has been too consistently reasonable to make major headlines. In the Antipodes he is a hero, his recent (narrow) victory over Andy Ruiz which saw him throw aloft the strap that is on the line this Saturday, saw a national holiday declared in his native New Zealand; in Europe and the US he is far from a household name.

At first glance, this seems unjust. At 6’4, 240lbs, Parker looks the part and he has scored eighteen knockouts in twenty-three outings. Parker’s resume, although not overwhelming, is decent, with key victories over Kali Meehan and Carlos Takam coming prior to his title victory. But it is that title victory which has defined him, and Parker was underwhelming against Andy Ruiz. Writing for this website in the wake of that fight, I called him “unnecessarily cautious” during what was a “turgid” fight.

Fair enough; these things happen – but I also observed that Parker now had the chance to prove his character by meeting some off the world’s best heavyweights. This, the New Zealander has failed to do.

His first defense was a pitiful affair although there were mitigating circumstances. None other than Hughie Fury was due to travel to New Zealand to match Parker in his homecoming fight but the fly in that particular ointment was Peter Fury’s checkered past which his seen him twice sentenced to prison for drugs related offences. This led to difficulties with his being admitted to the country, and it is perhaps not cynical to suggest that it was this rather than a purported back injury suffered by Hughie that led to the fight being cancelled.

Rather than abandon the promotion for what was a colossal fight in New Zealand, Parker’s people fished around for another opponent and hooked one Razvan Cojanu, 16-2, out of Romania. Cojanu had recently been stopped in two rounds by retired American journeyman Donovan Davis and had never completed the twelve round distance.

Such an opponent – the new answer to the question, who is the worst fighter ever to have fought for a heavyweight title? – is perhaps excusable in the circumstances, but Parker’s inability to knock him out was not. Cojanu made the twelve, losing a one-sided decision in another dull fight, one that did nothing to endear Parker to boxing fans, and especially not to fans of the heavies. His quickness of hand is undeniable, but he was pushing out snippy, torqueless punches that appeared to glance at and slip off a relatively guileless opponent throughout. Parker was suddenly the belt-holder everyone wanted to fight and in a division that contains perennial ticket-puncher Deontay Wilder, that is quite an achievement.

What then, of Hughie Fury’s chances?

In a sense, Hughie is a perfect opponent for Parker. He can dig, but he’s no puncher, stopping only ten of twenty men, and solid chins, even when they’re attached only to less-than-good fighters, hold his shots with ease. But he lands a lot of them. And there’s more.

Hughie has been plagued brutally by a skin condition called “acne conglobata”. According to medscape.com the condition is characterized by “burrowing and interconnecting abscesses and irregular scars.” When Hughie reported to a skin specialist in the wake of a lackluster performance against Fred Kassi in April of last year, he claims the specialist told him that the disease had been “poisoning his body.” This made sense to the fighter, who claims he felt his “legs had gone” and he “couldn’t lift up my hands” in what did indeed appear to be a lackluster performance.

As a subplot, this intrigues. There is nothing like a new lease of life in an underdog in fostering a shock. Think of Bernard Hopkins unshackled from the middleweight limit in his mauling of Antonio Tarver or the motivational promise Buster Douglas gave his departed mother in the run-up to his famous clash with Mike Tyson.

Stylistically, Hughie will likely have to prepare himself to be hunted. This fight has value because it presents a legitimate technical test for both men. Hughie may be more lightly regarded than Ruiz was when Parker took a majority decision from him, but he is also a very different sort of fighter. While Ruiz was willing to mix it, Hughie will probably look to remain outside, to bring Parker onto him. A limber style barracked by a stiff jab and some very relaxed – some say too relaxed – footwork makes defense his first line of defense, and attack, something he probably needs to intensify. An accurate left and a nice line in counter-punches thrown with the right probably won’t cut it at the highest level. Still, I have a feeling that a healthy Hughie will fight up to the level of a good opponent and that he has, so far, fought within himself for the most part. Combined with new reserves of energy, Fury could be about to spring a surprise. A win propels him by definition to world level, and that means one thing: a fight (eventually) with the king, Anthony Joshua. That in turn means a British superfight and millions.

Parker, for his part, must be watching footage of Fury’s languid movement and low hands with great interest. Parker has quick fists and if there’s one thing dumber than wearing low hands with a big puncher it’s wearing low hands with a quick puncher. For a man of his size his speed is really quite surprising and for all that Hughie has genuinely quick reactions, I can’t see him keeping out of trouble throughout if he doesn’t augment his style. Peter Fury, of course, is perfectly capable of springing a surprise, so it is far from impossible that the Hughie we get this Saturday night brings something unexpected to the table, but assuming he reverts to type, Parker’s big problem is going to be walking Hughie down.

Fighting with a reported 4” reach deficit, it is impossible to overestimate how important Parker’s footwork is in this match. Unable to consistently corner Cojanu, he is unlikely to be able to consistently corner Hughie, presuming, that is, Hughie cedes the center of the ring. This makes for a classic bull matador where the matador displays a coolness beyond his years and the bull has a patience and quickness of hands belied by his physicality.

It’s a heady combination that might just make for an excellent fight. Beyond the expected, there is the unexpected, prompted not just by the dark genius of Peter Fury but by the determination of Parker to make a name for himself. Britain is a place he sees himself settling as a fighter if he can find a way past Hughie, and in Tony Bellew, Dillian Whyte and, most of all, Joshua, he has a series of targets that cannot fail to make him both rich and famous – if he keeps winning.

I suspect that he will keep winning, or at least that he will win on Saturday night. Hughie is intriguing and I suspect he may have more improving to do than Parker but he is also the more inexperienced at this level and has been inactive in the ring over the past eighteen months. We should see a decision here, barring unexpected fight plans, and ring-rust might cost the Brit the contest. A fast start is a must but it is also a big ask for a man who has boxed seven rounds since out-pointing a washed up Dominic Guinn in April of 2016.

So while it may be a little shameful that the contest is being fought for the supposed heavyweight championship of the world, it is a cracking little fight that should deliver up a legitimate player at the highest levels and, even better, leaves behind a defeated man who will have more than enough time to rebuild a career that will be far from shattered.

I would suggest it is worth catching.

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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.

The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.

Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.

The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.

An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.

Moses Itauma

Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.

His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.

Photo (c): Mark Robinson

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10^th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.

Bohachuk-Davis

In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.

Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.

Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.

Fisher-Allen

In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.

Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.

In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.

He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Other Bouts of Note

In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.

A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.

In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.

McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.

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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Fury-Usyk-Reignated-Can-the-Gypsy-King-Avenge-His-Londe-Defeat?

Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.

The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.

Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.

The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.

That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.

The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)

Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)

Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.

Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).

Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.

The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.

Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.

Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.

We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”

The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.

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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguia’s promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.

Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.

Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.

Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canada’s previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.

There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France, Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.

It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed, it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.

Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached “10,”, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.

At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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