Dillian Whyte (23-1-0, 17 KO’s) will be looking to book himself a World heavyweight title fight this Saturday – provided he can get past Anthony Joshua’s latest victim, former WBO champion New Zealand’s Joseph Parker (24-0-0, 18 KO’s) at London’s O2 Arena.
This excellent Heavyweight pairing looks to be a true 50-50 clash between two fighters with plenty in common: most notably with both men suffering their sole career defeat to the same man.
Heavyweight supremo Anthony Joshua defeated bitter rival Whyte by seventh round stoppage in their ill-tempered British and Commonwealth title clash in December 2015 – but only after being hurt himself early in the contest.
Parker, on the other hand, tasted defeat for the first time in his last outing in March, when he was outboxed at long range by Joshua in a fight spoiled by the overly cautious refereeing of Italy’s Guiseppe Quartarone.
Despite the reverse, the Kiwi was never in serious trouble and became the first man to extend the big hitting WBA/WBC/IBF the full championship distance en route to a points loss.
However, the similarities do not end there: they are the same height (6ft 4″), only one fight separates their impressive records and both men come into the contest very confident of a victory.
But what can we expect in this highly-anticipated match up?
Whyte is coming off his most impressive win, looking much improved under the excellent tutelage of top class trainer Mark Tibbs, as he totally outclassed and knocked out unbeaten former WBA ‘Regular’ beltholder Lucas Browne in six one sided rounds in March.
His jab was quick and accurate and his movement in and out of range looked to be well thought out and practised. The Brixton slugger also showcased some eye-catching work in range, putting quality combinations together which will serve him well against Parker.
Anthony Joshua’s blueprint to beat Parker was helped by dire refereeing: but will not of gone unnoticed by trainer Tibbs. Expect movement and quality jabs to be key to Dillian Whyte’s game plan.
Parker, of course, will have other ideas and will take confidence from some of Whyte’s sloppy early career performances. However, after competing at a higher level throughout his professional career, the New Zealand-Samoan will have to be wary of complacency – as the much improved Whyte will capitalise on any mistakes.
If, however, Parker is in top physical and mental condition (as one would expect from the former WBO World heavyweight champion) his keys to victory will be his lightning fast hand-speed and relentless work-rate.
He will enter the bout as the lighter, quicker man, and should get the chance this time (refereeing permitting) to work on the inside with his quick combination-punching. Parker’s speed and power – alongside his impressive engine – have the potential make it very tough night for Whyte.
The bout is a quality match-up with the winner surely putting themselves in pole position to challenge for either Joshua or Wilder’s World heavyweight titles.
The fight will ultimately come down to who is able to implement their game plan on the other, and we will find out on Saturday night at The O2 Arena.
Article by: Glenn McCrory
Follow Glenn on Twitter at: @Glenn_McCrory