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Joe Joyce and Joe Parker meet at the Crossroads and the Likely Winner is….
A meeting at the crossroads is one of the most oft used cliches in boxing, but for a reason. Contests which will help define two careers, especially ones from adjacent generations are rare. Joseph Parker (30-2) knocked out Alexander Dimitrenko, out-pointed Carlos Takam, and received a razor-thin decision win over Andy Ruiz, all before Joe Joyce (14-0) had turned professional. Usually, a meeting between a contender who never reached the very top and an apprentice on the prowl for a legitimate scalp is fought at a junction, not a crossroads; the inexperienced man can dust himself off after any loss and come again. Not so Joyce. 14-0 he may be, but he is also seven years older than Parker, who is thirty. A major setback here could keep Joyce off the championship grass into his forties, and while many will claim forty is the new thirty in heavyweight boxing, this is only true of those who can stomach it.
Getting punched for pay is hard.
Parker, meanwhile, embraces every facet of another common boxing cliché, that of the heavyweight Ronin. Parker has boxed in his native New Zealand just once since 2018 and hasn’t defeated a ranked contender in even longer. Seen with the right kind of eyes, Parker’s record is a mirage, and although he made a spirited effort against Dillian Whyte in July of 2018, his surrender to Anthony Joshua a few months before was meek. Since his desperately narrow victory over Ruiz, Parker is 0-2 versus ranked contenders in six years. Should he drop to 0-3, Parker’s status will be reduced to that of gatekeeper.
So, when these two meet this Saturday night in Manchester, England, it is for more than an ABC trinket. The loser gets linked with Otto Wallin and Martin Bakole; the winner will find himself positioned for a shot at Joshua, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and any other monied heavyweights that emerge in 2023.
“Deep down there is respect,” Joyce told Parker nonchalantly at a recent publicity event. “But I want to smash your face in.”
This is Joyce in a nutshell. He is to the point, honest, open and direct when he is at his very best, and a stumbling confusion of speech when he strays from these tenants. Joyce has drawn criticism for the seemingly disinterested monotone with which he answers many questions during interviews or at press events, even seeming to drift off into a deep sleep on one occasion. I personally enjoy it and he recalls for me a manifestation of Norman Mailer’s appraisal of George Foreman. Mailer said of Foreman, “he could be deep, he could be non-responsive…he is a physical guru.” This was a polite way of saying that there could be very little going on in Foreman’s head (wrong, as it turned out) but that his physicality and seeming unassailability more than made up for it.
It would be wrong to compare Joyce to Foreman, but these things can be said of him, also.
“He has height, reach and power,” was how Parker summarised his opponent’s offensive skills. “He’s got a very good engine.”
This last, in combination with a chin which might soon be confirmed granite, is what sets him apart. Joyce cannot be dissuaded in his seek-and-destroy mission, and his being shelled by opponents like Daniel Dubois, Carlos Takam and most recently Christian Hammer has made no more impact than the limited opposition he met upon turning pro in late 2017. Joyce does indeed appear to be a non-responsive physical guru, as non-responsive to punches as he sometimes is to questions. This has earned him the nickname “The Juggernaut” and a very ill-advised attempt to adopt at a ring walked dressed as the Marvel comic-book character of the same name aside, it suits him.
Joyce is the classic big heavyweight, he deploys himself behind a surprisingly good jab and then does his thing: solve him if you can, and if you can’t, you will get hurt.
Joyce claims to have recently had his bone-density checked and that it is five times denser than that of the average man, higher even than that of other elite-level impact athletes who tend to flatten out at three-times the density of the average man. This translates to a real advantage in the ring that Joyce is cognisant of; he would also prefer not to rely upon it quite so much.
“I wasn’t happy getting hit clearly [by Christian Hammer in his most recent fight]. Preferably I won’t get hit by those punches against Parker.”
Parker is no big hitter, but then it was the mind-mixing punches of Muhammad Ali that spun Foreman to the canvas, not the booming shots of Ron Lyle or Joe Frazier. Parker’s best shot is the right-hand over and it is this punch which has most troubled Joyce recently. Taking a tour through Parker’s early finishes (rarer and rarer as his opponents improved) we see a long right hand so often the weapon of destruction. He started Dimitrenko’s trouble with a right-handed feint and then seconds later a distance right-handed punch for which he leans all the way across himself. Parker makes his position the key and this in tandem with some light footwork has spared him the worst attentions of the big punchers he has met. This knockout of Dimitrenko was impressive. Parker was just the second man to do it, and he remains the quickest in getting the giant German out of there (Tony Yoka finally equaled him, knocking him out in three rounds in Dimitrenko’s final fight).
It seemed, in these days, that Parker would manifest as a puncher, an exciting prospect given his skill and his own superb chin. Alas, it was not to be – but for this particular fight, one of Parker’s strengths, the right hand, lines up with Joyce’s specific weakness, a propensity to be hit with the right hand. He simply does not defend expertly against it and given his age and style he probably never will.
This is tantalising thought and hints at potential excitement. Parker taking control of this fight early and hurting Joyce with right hands while keeping out of harm’s way would be a thrilling and attractive opening. Watching Joyce, listed at 6’6 with an 80-inch reach, try to recapture the initiative as Parker inevitably fades would be even more so.
Parker claims this will be his hardest fight, which rings rather hollow if he expects to win, but Joyce’s claim that “this fight raises the bar” does ring true. “I’ll have to fight at a higher level [to win],” the Londoner added and it is a valid question as to whether the face-first tactics we’ve seen Joyce employ against Takam and Hammer will be enough to get the job done against a fundamentally sound fighter of Parker’s experience. People associated with Joyce, including his broadcast partners, have rather nervously been telling each-other and themselves that Joyce won’t fight in that plodding, carefree manner against elite opposition but the hour is getting late for him to demonstrate the truth of this.
Parker claims to have to have reclaimed his passion for boxing under Andy Lee who he has been training with in the United Kingdom, his family awaiting him in New Zealand. Joyce meanwhile travels to Las Vegas to train, taking advantage of the world-class sparring and facilities available to him but inflicting upon himself two trips across the Atlantic. Awaiting him there is Ismael Salas, a trainer Joyce seems wed to, the man who “made Felix Savon” in his own words. The Cuban is unquestionably a truly gifted trainer but if he has made significant differences to Joyce’s game, they are subtle.
Included though is an ability to ride troublesome right-handed punches. This is likely to be the key metric on Saturday. If Joyce is able to lift the sting from Parker’s best shots in the first half of the fight, the fight is decided, whatever the scorecards say at that point. Parker must land his best blows on Joyce, often and early and cleanly.
If he does, then he’s in it, but only if he’s in the very best shape of his career, because the Juggernaut will be coming for him. My guess is that Joyce’s momentum will send Parker into hiding later in the fight and that Joyce will sweep the final four or five rounds. This will be too many. Joyce is sluggish but he is busy and he is huge and that combination is awful enough; the addition of Parker’s best work bouncing off a sliding Joyce’s head and body without great effect will compound the issue.
Parker is tough and savvy. I expect him to be tough and savvy enough to survive the twelve rounds and drop a clear decision in an excellent fight.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More
Those lightweights.
Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.
Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.
Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.
Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.
“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.
Even in Las Vegas.
Verona, New York
Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.
Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.
“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.
Foster disagrees.
“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.
Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).
Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.
“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.
Muratalla likes challenges too.
“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.
Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship
WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.
Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.
But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.
“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.
In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.
Bad choice for Mucino.
Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.
Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.
Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.
Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.
“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.
It should be exciting.
Fights to Watch
Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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Bakhram Murtalaziev was the Fighter of the Month in October
As we close the book on October, let’s look back at the month’s stellar performances. Kenshiro Teraji added another exclamation point to his brilliant career with an 11th-round stoppage of Cristofer Rosales. England’s Jack Catterall, considered no more than a decent domestic-level talent for most of his career, showed that he had been underrated with a comprehensive 12-round decision over declining Regis Prograis. But the top performance, by a landslide, was delivered by Bakhram Murtalaziev who annihilated Tim Tszyu on Oct. 19 in Orlando, Florida.
Murtalaziev was undefeated (22-0, 16 KOs) and the reigning IBF junior middleweight champion, but he was the underdog and the “B” side. As champions go, and there are roughly five dozen across the 17 weight divisions, the California-based Russian ranked among the least well-known. He had won his title in Berlin with an 11th-round stoppage of an unexceptional 38-year-old German-Ecuadorian campaigner, Jack Culcay, and he would be making his first defense.
Managed by Egis Klimas who also handles Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, among others, Bakhram Murtalaziev came from a good barn in the vernacular of a horseplayer, but on paper that alone was insufficient to get him over the hump against Tim Tszyu who a few short months earlier was widely considered the best 154-pound boxer in the world.
That was before he met up with Sebastian Fundora who blemished his record, but that setback could have been written off as a fluke.
As we recall, Tszyu was scheduled to fight Keith Thurman in the initial PBC offering on Amazon Prime Video, but Thurman suffered a biceps injury in training and Fundora was bumped up from the undercard to fill the breach. With only 12 days’ notice, Tim Tszyu went from fighting a five-foot-seven fighter who fights out of an orthodox stance to fighting a southpaw who stood almost a full foot taller. The “Towering Inferno” has his limitations, but poses a special problem to anyone, let alone an opponent with little time to formulate a good game plan.
Tszyu was hampered in the Fundora fight by a gash on his hairline that hampered his vision. The injury happened in the second round when he ducked under Fundora and walked into an elbow. The gash bled copiously throughout the fight and yet the best that Fundora could do was win a split (albeit fair) decision.
To say that Tszyu failed to rebound from the Fundora misadventure would be putting it mildly. Murtalaziev steamrolled him, knocking him to the canvas four times in all before Tszyu’s corner tossed in the towel at the 1:55 mark of the third stanza. It was painful to watch. Referee Chris Young was faulted for allowing the match to continue as long as it did. Compounding Tszyu’s misery, his celebrated father, a first ballot Hall of Famer, was ringside. Kostya Tszyu hadn’t seen his oldest son fight in the flesh since Tim’s pro debut in 2016.
Although the dichotomy is imperfect, Tim Tszyu, who turns 30 on Saturday, is more of a puncher than a boxer. That may work against him so far as clawing his way back to a position of prominence. The noted boxing coach Stephen “Breadman” Edwards, a keen student of the history of boxing in the modern era, expressed this sentiment in a Q and A story for Boxing Scene. “Destructive fighters usually don’t come back to full capacity after bad KO losses,” he said, citing John Mugabi, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Naseem Hamed to illustrate his point. Moreover, added Edwards, “No one will ever be afraid of him again.”
But there were two stories that emerged from the Murtalaziev-Tszyu fight. Tim Tszyu crashed, but Bakhram Murtalaziev emerged from obscurity, announcing his presence (pardon the cliché) as a force to be reckoned with. As for his next assignment, the best guess is that it will come against Sebastian Fundora or Errol Spence Jr. who are expected to meet early next year. And based on Murtalaziev’s stunning performance in Orlando, it will be impossible to bet against him.
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Foreman-Moorer: 30 Years Later
Foreman-Moorer: 30 Years Later
By TSS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JAMIE REBNER — In sports, middle-aged athletes are not supposed to beat opponents who are half their age and in their athletic primes. Only the greatest ones can use guile, technique, and experience to compensate for the dulling of speed, reflexes, and athleticism that have unavoidably eroded with time.
That is why George Foreman’s feat of reclaiming the heavyweight title at 45 is so impressive. It was thirty years ago this coming Tuesday, Nov 5, 1994, that Foreman scored a monumental upset in knocking out Michael Moorer to win back the title he had lost twenty years prior against Muhammad Ali in The Rumble in the Jungle. In doing so, Big George became the oldest heavyweight champion, breaking the record previously held by Jersey Joe Walcott, who had won the title at 38.
When Foreman beat Moorer, he was in the twilight of his second career, a comeback that began in 1987. George had retired in 1977 after losing to Jimmy Young and experiencing a spiritual awakening in his locker room. That led him to become a minister and devote himself to his family and congregation. During his retirement, he opened a youth center in Houston, which required much financial support, prompting him to return to the ring.
After winning 24 straight fights from 1987-1990, Foreman lost his first title shot by decision to Evander Holyfield in 1991. He rebounded from that loss with three more wins before getting a crack at the WBO title against Tommy Morrison in 1993. But his performance against Morrison was disappointing and he lost another decision. After that, Foreman was out of the ring for 17 months before he was gifted another title shot against Moorer.
Foreman got that gift because Moorer, due to his sullen demeanor and curtness with the media, was not a draw with the fans. He was also an unproven champion, having beaten Holyfield for two belts only seven months prior. So. Moorer needed a name opponent who could bring in the crowds for his first title defense. And the other top heavyweights like Oliver McCall (WBC champ), Lennox Lewis, and Riddick Bowe didn’t have close to Foreman’s drawing power. So. deserving or not, Foreman was chosen as the challenger to make a fight that would be worth the public’s attention and pockets.
Even Foreman was surprised by getting selected to fight Moorer. “I never in my wildest imagination thought I’d get a title shot again,” he told Associated Press sports columnist Tim Dahlberg. Still, George was determined to make his third time a charm.
But as motivated as George was, there was an irrefutable gap in speed between himself and the much younger champion. From the opening bell, Moorer used his superior quickness and reflexes to make Foreman look stiff and slow. And although George landed punches early on, he fired them one at a time while Moorer countered with multiple shots. But despite Moorer’s advantage in connects, his trainer Teddy Atlas advised him from the get-go not to stand in front of Foreman and make himself a stationary target for a right-hand bomb.
But Moorer failed to heed that advice as he continued to outwork Foreman in the middle rounds. Although he was winning, Moorer’s overconfidence kept him at close quarters, and he continued to circle unwisely to his left and into Foreman’s dangerous right hand. And despite absorbing many quality shots, Foreman never appeared hurt or discouraged thanks to his granite chin and unyielding resolve. He was determined to win and he was willing to walk through as many flush shots as he needed to do so.
With Moorer content to stay in range, Foreman gladly returned his firepower and he landed some telling right crosses, uppercuts, and plenty of thudding body blows during the battle. And while Moorer continued to pile up points and rounds, as long as George was marching forward and throwing shots, he had a puncher’s chance.
And with a minute to go in round ten, that punch came. After missing a three-punch combination, Foreman scored with a one-two, with the right hand landing on the forehead. He immediately repeated that combination but this time aimed the right hand lower on Moorer’s jaw. That slight adjustment caused his bulldozer right to collide perfectly with Moorer’s chin, sending the champion crashing to the canvas and sprawled onto his back. The champion couldn’t beat the count, and just like that, the fight was over, Moorer’s short-lived title run ending before it ever truly began.
With a single, shattering blow, Foreman etched his name into boxing history. Wearing the same trunks from Zaire 20 years before, he was now heavyweight champion of the world once again. It was a shocking result that defied conventional wisdom since seldom do 45-year-old boxers score knockouts over champions in their athletic primes. But Foreman reminded us that he was anything but your typical quadragenarian. He was special, and he had two distinct heavyweight championship reigns to prove it.
—
About the author:
Jamie Rebner lives in Toronto, Canada. He has been a freelance boxing writer since 2016 and his writing has appeared in The Fight City, Boxing News Online, The Ring, and Ringside Seat magazine. His Substack blog is Fight Fundamental, and he is currently writing a book about George Foreman’s comeback. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @J_NReb.
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