Who Will Rise To The Occasion In The Joe Joyce vs Joseph Parker Showdown?
On July 2, top unbeaten heavyweight contender Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce (13-0, 12KOs) face former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (30-2, 21KOs), which is an excellent matchup for both men. Both are currently in excellent positions to challenge for a world title at some point in 2022 or 2023. For Joyce, he’s ranked # 1 (WBO), #6 (IBF), and #2 (WBC). As for Parker, he’s ranked #2 (WBO), #3 (WBC) and #12 (WBA).
JOE JOYCE
Joyce, who’s 36 years old, has been fast tracked since turning pro in October of 2017. While he’s not as young as his heavyweight peers, he also doesn’t have a lot of wear and tear on his body. After pulling off an upset against hotshot prospect Daniel Dubois, whom he stopped in ten rounds in November of 2020, Juggernaut has been on the prowl for a world title opportunity. However, as is the case with boxing, things don’t always go your way. So instead of harping on the fact that he’s yet to fight for a world title, he has continued to fight the best available opponents. In his last ring outing, he was seen stopping former world title challenger Carlos Takam in six rounds in July of 2021.
JOSEPH PARKER
When it comes to Parker, it’s been four years since he lost his WBO title to Anthony Joshua in their March 2018 unification bout. Since that moment, things have seemed to fizzle out for him. Following his first loss to Joshua, he would suffer a second consecutive defeat to Dillian Whyte. While he’s bounced back, winning six straight fights, it’s been against less than stellar competition. Outside of Derek Chisora and Junior Fa, who he didn’t impress in victory, he’s been relegated as a middle of the pack contender.
While he’s certainly a very good fighter, Parker’s inconsistency as of late really makes you wonder how he’ll fare against a motivated, power-punching pressure fighter like Joyce, who’s just as close to a world title opportunity as he is.
Regardless of how many people view these fighters, this fight has a chance to be a very good battle. This is a huge opportunity for both men, as they each have something to prove. Can Joyce rise up again, this time against a former world champion and get the biggest win of his career? Or will Parker’s skills, championship pedigree, and experience be too much for his unbeaten counterpart? So many questions that I’m sure we’ll get our answers to come July 2.
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By: Jerrell Fletcher
