Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker. Photo / Photosport
Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker. Photo / Photosport
Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker has gone three fights without a knockout victory. When he fights Anthony Joshua in his next bout, he will almost certainly need a stoppage in order to be assured of a win, but his record shows he has plenty of finishing power. Patrick McKendry ranks the best knockouts of Parker's career.
1. Irineu Beato Costa jnr
December 6, 2014, at Claudelands Arena, Hamilton Round 4 of 12
Joseph Parker knocks out Irineu Beato Costa Junior during the Fight for Life at Claudelands Event Centre. Photo / Getty Images
A brutal, one-punch knockout which near lifted Costa jnr off his feet before depositing him on his back. This is the sort of finish that professional boxers dream of, and it's considered the best of Parker's career by his trainer Kevin Barry. Parker went into the fight knowing it was his last of five for the year. It was his "final exam" according to Barry, and Parker aced it. Two months earlier, Parker had promised to knock out the tough Sherman Williams, and while he dominated the 10-round fight from start to finish and won by unanimous decision, he couldn't find the killer blow. Williams, meanwhile, let loose with overhand rights which occasionally got through Parker's defences. This fight against Costa jnr was different. The Brazilian trained in front of the media about a week before he got in the ring in Hamilton and what was immediately obvious was how slow and cumbersome he was. Parker quickly went to work, knowing he would have time to dodge anything coming his way, and scored with power shots to the body and head. His knockout was set up with a left hook, which he finished with a right cross which struck Costa jnr on the point of the chin, sending his jaw spinning and putting his lights out. It was a brutal, stunning way for Parker to finish his year and the various "celebrities" flocking to his dressing room were another signal he was on the way to big things.
October 1, 2016, at the Vodafone Events Centre, Manukau Round 3 of 12
Alexander Dimitrenko went down during the Burger King Road to the Title. Photo / Photosport
This fight featured an almost perfect display of body punching from Parker, who showed a new, ruthless attitude. At 2.01m, Dimitrenko was 8cm taller than Parker and had a big reach advantage. The German had an impressive amateur record, too, and yet he had no answer to Parker's power in a fight tinged with controversy. The Kiwi put him down in the first round and at the end of the three minutes, Dimitrenko was holding on to Parker as he waited for the bell. There was no respite in round two - Dimitrenko was put down twice by Parker, who looked fast and punched in combinations, his best attributes. In the third round, Dimitrenko scored with a good, hard left and went in for another clinch which finished with a knee on the canvas. Parker, frustrated at Dimitrenko's holding antics and perhaps unsighted, threw a right hand to the body regardless, and Dimitrenko took the opportunity to roll around on the floor in the hope of a disqualification. The referee, who counted him out, had no sympathy and neither did the judges. A day later, Parker told the Herald he apologised to his opponent. "I said, 'I'm sorry, I'm not a dirty fighter, I didn't know you had a knee on the canvas' but he said 'why, why would you do that?' I was disappointed. I wanted to finish it in the right fashion. When you're in the zone, you're in there to win, but if I could take it back, I would."
3. Kali Meehan
October 15, 2015, at the Trusts Arena, Auckland Round 3 of 12
Joseph Parker wins the fight against Kali Meehan after his team threw in the towel. Photo / Photosport
Meehan, the Auckland-born long-time resident of Australia, was older, taller and heavier than Parker but was bullied from the opening bell. This was Parker's 16th professional fight and it was a good guide as to his progression and where he stood in relation to Australasia's heavyweights. "Meanhands" Meehan was a tough and experienced fighter with a long and illustrious record (47 professional fights, with 42 wins and 5 losses), a man who was considered to have been robbed in his split decision defeat to Lamon Brewster in a fight for the WBO world title in Las Vegas in 2004. Meehan was rocked by a right hand in the second round against Parker but somehow stayed on his feet despite a further barrage of right-hand power shots. But he was exhausted from the effort and was down in the third round from a vicious right hand to the temple. Parker, who tipped the scales at 107kg, looked in brilliant shape - muscular and trim, yet very fast. It's a weight he will look to get back to for his next fight (he was 111.1kg in his last fight against Hughie Fury).
4. Frans Botha
June 13, 2013, at the Trusts Arena, Auckland Round 2 of 8
Joseph Parker knocks out Frans Botha. Photo / Photosport
A fight, and a knockout, which put Parker on the heavyweight map and caused his mentor Sir Bob Jones to end his association with his then 21-year-old charge, as he felt his promoters Duco were pushing him too quickly. It was Parker's second fight under trainer Kevin Barry and fifth professional fight in total. Far from being overawed, Parker danced smiling to the ring and set about impressing with his range-finding and hand speed. In the days before the fight, Botha had entertained Parker and the media with his "Baby Joseph" jibes but while he had been in the ring with some of the biggest names in the sport - Evander Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis - Botha was 44 when he faced Parker and clearly his best fighting days were behind him. Having said that, he was robbed four months earlier in a highly controversial bout against Sonny Bill Williams which was hurriedly changed from 12 rounds to 10 when he was getting on top (Botha lost by decision). In the second round against Parker, Botha smiled and chatted to his opponent and the crowd in a bid to wind everyone up, but he was soon in serious trouble. Parker caught him with a right hand coming in and a flurry put Botha against the ropes and out on his feet. Luckily for the big South African, Parker didn't pull the trigger on his last right hand as Botha slumped to the floor, defenceless - a punch that could have seriously injured him.
5. Marcelo Nascimento
April 26, 2014, at Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany Round 7 of 10
The fight between Joseph Parker and Marcelo Nascimento. Photo / Photosport
Parker was 22 when he fought Brazilian Nascimento on the undercard of the Wladimir Klitschko v Alex Leapai world title fight, so this was easily the biggest stage he had been on. It was Parker's eighth fight as a professional and his first in Europe, and he impressed hugely with his power (in both hands) and speed while also having to cope with some adversity. Parker put down Nascimento at the end of the first round with a huge right hand and had him in trouble throughout with a left hook which constantly rocked his opponent. But Nascimento got in some good blows and in particular one right hand which ruptured Parker's left ear drum late in the bout. The Kiwi wasn't fazed, though, and stepped up the attack in the seventh round with a sustained barrage that left the referee no choice but to stop the fight.
