Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker

Last updated

Road to Undisputed
JoshuaParker.jpg
Date31 March 2018
Venue Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Title(s) on the line WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Anthony Joshua Flag of New Zealand.svg Joseph Parker
Nickname "AJ" "JP"
Hometown Watford, Hertfordshire, UK Auckland, New Zealand
Purse £18,000,000 £8,000,000
Pre-fight record 20–0 (20 KOs) 24–0 (18 KOs)
Age 28 years, 5 months 26 years, 2 months
Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 242.2 lb (110 kg) 236.7 lb (107 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Super), IBF and IBO
Heavyweight Champion
The Ring/TBRB
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
WBO
Heavyweight Champion
The Ring/TBRB
No. 3 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Joshua wins via 12-round unanimous decision (118–110, 119–109, 118–110)

Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker, billed as Road to Undisputed, was a professional boxing heavyweight unification match contested between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker. The event took place on 31 March 2018 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, with Joshua's WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO titles and Parker's WBO title on the line. Joshua won the fight by unanimous decision, marking the first time he went the distance. Two judges scored it 118–110 and the other 119–109 all in favor of Joshua [1] [2]

Contents

Background

It was reported that Joseph Parker's team were looking at Lucas Browne as a potential match-up if they failed to land a unification fight with Joshua. According to Parker's promoter David Higgins, a date in March 2018 was being discussed with Joshua's team, however Eddie Hearn offered an 80–20 split, which would favour Joshua. Higgins spoke to Fairfax Media, saying the offer would need to be more reasonable, also taking into consideration the fight would take place in the UK. [3] Other names discussed for a summer 2018 fight included Bryant Jennings and Alexander Povetkin. [4]

According to a Tweet from Parker on 15 November 2017, he was offered less than half of what was paid to Charles Martin when he defended his IBF title against Joshua. [5] The next day, Higgins told Fairfax Media that he and Hearn were still negotiating a deal that would benefit all parties. [6] Parker stated he was willing to drop to 35% of the net profit. Higgins made a final offer to Hearn on 22 November 2017. He told Sky Sports, "It's our final bottom line decision. We feel anything less is disrespectful or a disgrace." [7] On 29 November 2017, Hearn stated the fight could be confirmed within two weeks. Higgins listed Camp Nou as the potential venue. [8]

According to Hearn on 11 December 2017, a deal was very close to being announced with the Principality Stadium a frontrunner to host the fight. Hearn said they were over-paying Parker, with the deal being 65-35. [9] On 28 December 2017, Higgins announced that a split had been agreed which would see Parker earn between 30–35% of the purse and the fight should take place in April 2018. Higgins stated that a rematch clause would be in place for Joshua, should he lose. In a potential rematch, Parker would get a 55% split. [10] [11] It was reported that Joshua would earn a career-high £18 million and Parker would also earn a career-high pay of £8 million. [12]

On 8 January 2018, the Principality Stadium in Cardiff was confirmed as the venue for the fight. [13] On 14 January 2018, negotiations came to a close and the fight was officially announced to take place on 31 March in Cardiff, live on Sky Sports Box Office. [14] [15] In an official press release on 5 February 2018, Showtime announced they would televise the fight live in the United States. [16] [17]

Weigh-in

Joshua and Parker both came in lighter compared to their respective previous bouts. Parker weighed in first at 236.7 pounds, his lightest since he fought Solomon Haumono in July 2016. Joshua weighed 242.2 pounds, his lightest since 2014 when he fought Michael Sprott. [18]

The fight

Joshua was forced to go the distance to defeat Parker via a 12-round unanimous decision to claim the WBO title as well as retain his WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO belts. The judges scored the fight 118-110, 118-110 and 119-109 in favour of Joshua. Many media outlets, including ESPN, had the fight much closer, generally around 116-112 with Joshua the clear winner. With going the distance, Joshua's 20 fight knockout streak came to an end. Parker used his movement well to slip a lot of Joshua's attacks but in doing so did not do enough himself to win more rounds. Parker started the fight on the back-foot, allowing Joshua to take the opening rounds. There was an accidental clash of heads in round three, however neither boxer was cut from this. There was another accidental clash of heads in round nine where the referee called for a short break. Joshua's tape on his left glove kept coming loose and he was ordered to go back to his corner for a re-tape. Parker suffered a cut over his left eye from an accidental elbow. In round twelve, neither boxer engaged as much as expected with Joshua trying to track Parker down, who again, on the backfoot looked to survive the round. The fight was marred by Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone, who kept both boxers from fighting on the inside. This mostly had negative impact on Parker, where he was seen to have the most success. The referee was breaking the action each time both boxers were on the inside, even when they were still throwing shots. Many boxers, pundits and both the Sky Sports and Showtime broadcast team criticised the referee during and after the fight. [19] [20]

CompuBox punch stats showed that Joshua landed 139 of 383 punches thrown (36.3%) and Parker landed 101 of his 492 thrown (20.5%). Joshua used his reach advantage and utilised his jab more often from round seven and onwards. In total, Joshua landed 93 jabs with a connect rate of 34.4%. Parker landed 49 jabs with a much lower connect rate of 15.5%. Parker was the busier power puncher of the two, landing 52 power punches which included 29 to the body of Joshua (29.5%). Joshua was more accurate with his power shots in landing 46 with a connect rate of 40.7%. [21]

Post fight

After the fight, Joshua explained his game plan for the fight, "My strategy in there was kind of stick behind the jab. It’s one of the most important weapons. The old saying is the right hand could take you around the block, but a good jab will take you around the world. And that secured another championship belt. So I stuck behind the jab and I made sure anything that was coming back, I was switched on, I was focused and 12 rounds, baby! I thought it was hard, right?"

Parker was humble in defeat and stated he would back stronger, "Today I got beaten by a better champion, bigger man. A lot to work on. It was a good experience being here. Thank you all for the opportunity to fight in this big stadium. We’re gonna go back, train hard, plan again and come back stronger. No regrets, you know, take it on the chin. … So we’ll be back again." When asked what he would do different, Parker replied, "Work harder. Come back stronger, more punches. But I would love to have another go. Just back to the drawing board." [22]

During the post fight press conference, Parker's team stated the referee did not speak English, whereas Joshua and his promoter Hearn disagreed and said he spoke English fluently. [23]

Viewership and revenue

In Cardiff, the fight drew a live gate audience of 78,000 spectators at the Principality Stadium, [24] generating approximately $10.4 million in live gate revenue. [25]

On Sky Box Office, the fight sold 1.457 million pay-per-view buys in the United Kingdom. [26] At a viewing price of £19.95 [27] ($27), the fight grossed approximately £29.1 million ($40 million) in pay-per-view revenue.[ citation needed ]

The fight was shown live in the United States on Showtime in the afternoon. The live showing averaged 346,000 viewers and peaked at 379,000 viewers. A replay was shown later in the evening which saw an increase. The replay averaged 430,000 viewers and peaked at 483,000 viewers. Nielsen Media Research., who released the figures do not have the facility to measure whether the same customers that watched the live showing tuned in for the replay. These figures were an increase for Joshua on Showtime, as his last fight on Showtime against Carlos Takam in October 2017 averaged 334,000 viewers. [28]

Fight card

Weight Classvs.MethodRoundTimeNotes
Heavyweight Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Anthony Joshua (c)def. Flag of New Zealand.svg Joseph Parker (c)UD12 Note 1
Heavyweight Flag of Russia.svg Alexander Povetkin def. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Price KO5/12
Bantamweight Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ryan Burnett (c)def. Flag of Venezuela.svg Yonfrez Parejo PTS12 Note 2
Lightweight Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Anthony Crolla def. Flag of Mexico.svg Edson RamirezPTS10
Welterweight Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Josh Kelly def. Flag of Mexico.svg Carlos Molina PTS10
Lightweight Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Joe Cordina def. Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Hakim Ben AliTKO3/10
Light heavyweight Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Joshua Buatsi def. Flag of Poland.svg Bartlomiej GrafkaPTS6
Super middleweight Flag of New Zealand.svg Mose Auimatagi Jnr def. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Morgan JonesTKO6

^Note 1 For IBF, WBA (Super), WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.
^Note 2 For WBA (Super) bantamweight title.

Broadcasting

CountryBroadcaster
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria DAZN
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Main Event
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus Match TV
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium VOOsport World 1
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Diema Sport
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia RTL Televizija
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Nova Sport 1
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark TV3+
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Viasat Sport Baltic
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Viaplay
Flag of France.svg  France SFR Sport
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany DAZN
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Sport2
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Sky Box Office
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Sport 1
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Sky Sport Plus
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia Viasat Sport Baltic
Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein DAZN
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania Viasat Sport Baltic
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxemburg VOOsport World 1
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova Pro TV
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands RTL 7
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand SKY Arena
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Viaplay
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama RPC Channel 4
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland TVP Sport
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Pro TV
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Match TV
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa TV3
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia Dajto
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Viaplay
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland DAZN
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates OSN Sports
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Sky Box Office
Flag of the United States.svg  United States Showtime
Sub-Saharan Africa Kwesé Sports
Latin America Canal Space

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wladimir Klitschko</span> Ukrainian boxer (born 1976)

Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held the world heavyweight championship twice, including the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring magazine titles. A strategic and intelligent boxer, Klitschko is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. He was known for his exceptional knockout power, using a strong jab, straight right hand and left hook, quick hand speed, great physical strength which he employed when clinching opponents, and his athletic footwork and mobility, unusual for boxers of his size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Povetkin</span> Russian boxer

Alexander Vladimirovich "Sasha" Povetkin is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2021. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title from 2011 to 2013; the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 2020 to 2021; and challenged twice for the unified heavyweight championship in 2013 and 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erislandy Lara</span> Cuban world champion boxer (b. 1983)

Erislandy Lara Santoya is a Cuban-American professional boxer who is the current WBA middleweight champion, having held the title since 2021. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes. Previously he held various versions of the WBA light middleweight title between 2014 and 2021, and the IBO light middleweight title twice between 2015 and 2021. As of May 2022, Lara is ranked as the world's fifth-best active middleweight by BoxRec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kubrat Pulev</span> Bulgarian boxer (born 1981)

Kubrat Venkov Pulev is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has challenged once for the IBF and the Ring magazine heavyweight titles in 2014, and once for the unified heavyweight title in 2020. He won the WBA International heavyweight title in 2024. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the European title twice between 2012 and 2016. As an amateur, he won multiple medals at international tournaments, including gold at the 2008 European Championships and bronze at the 2005 World Championships, all in the super-heavyweight division. He also represented Bulgaria at the 2008 Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oleksandr Usyk</span> Ukrainian boxer (born 1987)

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the undisputed championship in two weight classes, at cruiserweight and heavyweight, and reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from May to June 2024. He has also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title since 2021, and the Ring magazine title since 2022.

Julius Munyelele Indongo is a Namibian professional boxer. He is a former unified light-welterweight world champion, having held the WBA (Unified), IBF, and IBO titles between 2016 and 2017. As an amateur, Indongo represented Namibia at the 2008 Olympics, reaching the first round of the lightweight bracket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kell Brook</span> British boxer (born 1986)

Ezekiel "Kell" Brook is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2022. He held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title from 2014 to 2017, and challenged once for a unified middleweight world title in 2016. At regional level, he held multiple welterweight titles, including the British welterweight title from 2008 to 2010. In May 2017, Brook was ranked as the world's best active welterweight by The Ring magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Parker</span> New Zealand boxer (born 1992)

Joseph Dennis Parker, OM is a New Zealand professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim heavyweight title since March 2024. Previously, he held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the WBO Oriental, Africa, and Oceania titles; as well as the PABA, OPBF, and New Zealand titles. As an amateur, he represented New Zealand at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the super-heavyweight division, and narrowly missed qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Errol Spence Jr.</span> American boxer (born 1990)

Errol Spence Jr. is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified champion in the welterweight division, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles between 2017 and 2023. As an amateur, in the welterweight division, he won three consecutive United States national championships and represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics, where he reached the quarter-finals. In 2015, Spence was named Prospect of the Year by ESPN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Joshua</span> British boxer (born 1989)

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua is a British professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles twice between 2016 and 2021.

Jarrell Miller is an American professional boxer and former kickboxer who competes in the heavyweight division. He first came to prominence in 2007 when he competed for the New Jersey Tigers in the World Combat League and made it to the finals of the New York Golden Gloves tournament that same year. Miller was due to challenge Anthony Joshua for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles in 2019, but was denied a license to box after failing multiple drug tests.

Dillian Whyte is a British professional boxer who has formerly competed as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He has held the WBC interim heavyweight title twice between 2019 and 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British title from 2016 to 2017. As of October 2021, he is ranked as the world's fifth-best active heavyweight by The Ring magazine, and the fourth-best active heavyweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and BoxRec. He has been ranked among BoxRec's top 10 heavyweights since 2016, reaching his career-high ranking of No. 2 at the end of August 2021.

Ryan Burnett is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2019. He was a unified bantamweight world champion, having held the WBA (Unified) and IBF titles between 2017 and 2018. At regional level he held the British bantamweight title from 2015 to 2017. As an amateur, he represented Ireland at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and won a gold medal in the light-flyweight division.

Lawrence Okolie is a British professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) bridgerweight title since May 2024. Previously, he held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight title from 2021 to 2023. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth title twice between 2018 and 2019; the British title from 2018 to 2019; and the European title in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko</span> Boxing competition

Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko, was a professional boxing match contested on 29 April 2017 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, with Joshua's IBF and the vacant WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight titles on the line. Joshua won the match via technical knockout (TKO) in the eleventh round with 90,000 fans in attendance. Klitschko announced his retirement from boxing a few months after the fight. The bout was named Fight of the Year by The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.</span> Boxing competitions

Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between undefeated and unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO champion Anthony Joshua, and former world title challenger Andy Ruiz Jr. The bout took place on June 1, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Joshua was originally scheduled to face undefeated WBA No. 2 and WBO No. 3 ranked heavyweight Jarrell Miller, who was replaced by Ruiz Jr. after Miller failed three drug tests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Joshua vs Alexander Povetkin</span> Boxing competition

Anthony Joshua vs Alexander Povetkin was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between undefeated and unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO champion Anthony Joshua, and former WBA (Regular) champion Alexander Povetkin. The bout took place on 22 September 2018 at the Wembley Stadium in London, England. Joshua defeated Povetkin, retaining his heavyweight titles via seventh-round technical knockout (TKO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam</span> Boxing competition

Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between undefeated and unified WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO champion Anthony Joshua, and the IBF's number 2 ranked contender, Carlos Takam. The bout took place on 28 October 2017 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Joshua defeated Takam, retaining his heavyweight titles via tenth-round technical knockout (TKO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Joshua vs Éric Molina</span> Boxing competition

Anthony Joshua vs Éric Molina was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between undefeated IBF champion Anthony Joshua, and the IBF's number 7 ranked contender and former world title challenger, Éric Molina. The bout took place on 10 December 2016 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Joshua defeated Molina, retaining his heavyweight title via third-round technical knockout (TKO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk</span> Boxing competition

Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk, billed as The Perfect Storm, was a professional boxing match that was contested between WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, and former undisputed cruiserweight champion and the WBO's heavyweight mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk. The bout took place on 25 September 2021 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Usyk winning by unanimous decision.

References

  1. "Joshua beats Parker on points". BBC Sport. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  2. "Anthony Joshua beats Joseph Parker on points in heavyweight unification". Guardian. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  3. "Joshua, Parker Camps Open Talks For Unification Bout in March - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  4. WBN. "Parker wants Joshua, has Browne, Jennings, Povetkin alternatives". WBN - World Boxing News. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  5. "Joseph Parker sends Joshua angry tweet after first fight offer - Hearn hits back". GiveMeSport. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  6. "Parker's Promoter: Hearn is Willing To Budge on Joshua Terms - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  7. "Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker have made progress in talks for a unification clash, says Eddie Hearn". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  8. "Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker is 'achievable', says Eddie Hearn as talks rumble on". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  9. "Hearn: Joshua vs. Parker Deal is Close, We're Ready To Overpay". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  10. "Joshua-Parker nears reality as cash split settled". ESPN.com. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  11. "Parker Would Get 55% of Split in Joshua Rematch, Says Higgins". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  12. McKenna, Chris (31 March 2018). "Anthony Joshua to receive stunning record purse for Joseph Parker fight". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  13. "Joshua-Parker: Principality Stadium in Cardiff Confirmed Site". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  14. "Joshua vs Parker: Anthony Joshua faces Joseph Parker in unification fight live on Sky Sports Box Office". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  15. "Joshua vs. Parker confirmed for March 31". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  16. "Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker To Air Live on Showtime". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  17. "Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker: What time is the fight tomorrow, what TV channel is it on and what are the odds?". The Telegraph. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  18. "Full Joshua v Parker Weigh In Results – Including Undercard". Boxing News and Views. 30 March 2018. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  19. "Joshua unifies 3 belts, wants Wilder fight next". ESPN.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  20. "Joshua vs Parker: Anthony Joshua completes wide points win over Joseph Parker in Cardiff". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  21. "Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker - CompuBox Punch Stats". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  22. "Anthony Joshua Decisions Joseph Parker To Unify World Titles". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  23. "Team Parker Claim Ref Couldn't Speak English, Joshua Disagrees". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  24. "Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker round-by-round scores from our judges" . The Independent . 1 April 2018. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
  25. "No deal yet for heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder". Yahoo Sports . 12 June 2018.
  26. "Weekly viewing summary (Sky Box Office Events buys between 26 March 2018 and 1 April 2018)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board . Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  27. Gray, James (31 March 2018). "Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker pay-per-view: Price, how to buy and book the fight". Daily Express .
  28. "Joshua-Parker: Showtime's First Replay Peaked at 483,000 Viewers". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
Preceded by Anthony Joshua's bouts
31 March 2018
Succeeded by
Preceded by Joseph Parker's bouts
31 March 2018
Succeeded by