Kevin Mitchell's ringside report
Hughie Fury was going to be interviewed in the ring, but technical difficulties called a halt. Now, he’s changed his mind. It’s an underwhelming end to a fight that wasn’t a classic. Credit to Hughie Fury for taking a champion the distance, and fair play to Joseph Parker for getting the job done. We’ll have a report up shortly. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
Parker stopped short of calling out Anthony Joshua in that interview – hard to see who else he would target as a champion in the UK. On tonight’s evidence, Parker has very little in his locker that would bother AJ.
Joseph Parker speaks: “Fury moved well, he was awkward. I caught him with the harder punches, and feel I won the fight fairly. It’s a great result, but I want to go back to New Zealand and have a bit of a break now. I feel that this opens up big fights here, we can come back and set up another big fight.”
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Joseph Parker retains his WBO world heavyweight title!
Joseph Parker wins on points! Two judges score it 118-110, the other 114-114. Curious scorecards – two giving 10 rounds to Parker, one calling it a draw – but that’s the right outcome.
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Fury’s entourage, including a suited Tyson, storm the ring in celebration. That may be premature – my rudimentary scorecard has Parker 115-113 up, winning seven rounds to five. After a scrappy, slow-burning fight, who can say for sure?
Round 12: After Fury gets in first with a jab, Parker lands the cleanest shot of the fight with a fierce right hook. Another big right-hand from Parker, then an uppercut from Fury as his opponent looks to land a few more clean blows. Fury clings on until the final bell, and now we await the judges’ verdicts...
Round 11: The judges will have their work cut out to score some of these scrappy exchanges, particularly here, as a tired-looking Fury slows down, lingering on the ropes too long. Parker lands a couple of blows to the body late in the round. The champion is in the ascendancy...
Round 10: Three rounds left, and it’s been a close contest – but Parker seems to be the man with the momentum. Impressive, given that he looked puffed after about 30 seconds. Fury repels more hefty punches from Parker, and gets the crowd involved with a couple of nice combinations. Fury’s footwork has helped him to steady the ship. Can he do enough in the last two rounds to tip the balance his way?
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Round nine: Fury’s corner are urging him to do a little more, and land a few more shots in these closing rounds. Parker unleashes a nifty combination and has Fury on the ropes, but the challenger regroups quickly. Two rights in quick succession from Parker, and the second lands. Fury absorbs it but he’s lost this round, and may be slipping behind overall.
Round eight: Fury lands another with his right, then keeps Parker chasing him around the ring. Parker is rocked as he tries to move forward, but regroups, lands a jab to the chest and launches another flurry. It’s ugly stuff, but it’s helping the champion keep his nose in front in these closer rounds.
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Round seven: Fury reaches halfway level, at worst, on the scorecard, and with the cut clearing up – but he may need to offer a bit more than defence to get the job done. It’s a scrappy round that follows the pattern so far, Fury keeping his distance, Parker lunging in without much success.
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Round six: “Don’t worry about the cut, it’s nothing,” says Peter Fury, convincing nobody. His son looks less nimble on his feet, but has his jab working again early in the round. Fury lands that uppercut again, and Parker responds with his right. The champion launches a right hook as he goes on the attack. Fury looks a little ragged, his pteruge riding up to his ribs, and Parker probably shaded that round too.
Round five: McDonnell informs the judges that the cut was caused by an accidental clash of heads, as both fighters grappled on the ropes. Fury is still bleeding as Parker goes on the offensive – and McDonnell warns both fighters as things get a little ugly in the middle of the round. Parker leans in and delivers a scruffy right-hander that lands. The champion takes that round, arguably his first of the contest.
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Round four: Parker can’t get his feet moving, and Fury catches him again with an uppercut. He looks easily the more comfortable man in these opening rounds, but Parker does land a left hook late in the round – and Fury has a cut over his right eye...
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Round three: Parker is getting closer, but Fury disrupts his rhythm with a sneaky right-hander, and the champion is back to swinging and missing. Fury’s jab is keeping his opponent at bay, and he’s right in this fight early on.
Round two: Parker’s corner urge their man to lead with the jab and think ahead, but he still looks sluggish and Fury lands a jab of his own to the body. The challenger is staying on the defensive, and not taking any risks.
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Round 1/12: Fury has a height advantage and is moving well, meaning plenty of Parker’s flurries don’t land. He’s also innovating with his shorts – a black-and-gold tribute to a gladiatorial skirt is the best way I can describe it. Oh, and gold gloves.
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Seconds out!
Parker, in black shorts with red trim, is on the offensive early against Fury.
Marcus McDonnell from Twickenham might sound like a promising young welterweight, but he’s actually tonight’s referee. Parker’s ring walk also exposed a swathe of empty seats, previously kept out of shot.
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A lot more fun from Parker, who sports a headband, flanked by what I can only describe as two well-built, middle-aged shirtless men. His entrance music starts with a haka, then slides into hip-hop. 8/10.
Fury is out first, in a black and gold outfit with a gladiatorial air to it. His backing music is a mournful classical number. Now it’s time for the champ...
Here's Hughie. #ParkerFury pic.twitter.com/Xzrix03zRX
— Sheldan Keay (@SheldanKeay) September 23, 2017
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When Wilson switches it up from the Samoan anthem to ‘God Defend New Zealand’, a fair few in the crowd join in. So safe to say we have some Kiwis in attendance tonight.
All in all, the anthems last about 15 minutes, and they manage to miss out the Irish one that was announced at the start. Let’s press on...
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A welcome spot of farce here as singer Benson Wilson arrives in the ring to perform the Samoan and New Zealand national anthems – but the tape’s not ready, so it’s ‘God Save the Queen’ first while he stands and waits. All a bit awkward. Here’s a song about boxing:
@niallmcveigh what's the crowd looking like? Next to no promotion in nw that I saw.
— Matt Moran (@mattmoran1980) September 23, 2017
There had been reports of slow ticket sales, but it looks pretty full on the night.
It’s Murray who gets the points decision, 96-93 – despite Fagan knocking him down in the second – and that means that next up, it’s the main event!
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Hughie Fury has been speaking ahead of the fight:
“I’m very relaxed, I’m confident, everything’s gone to plan. It’s done me the world of good to be off, there’ll be no ring rust from me. I’m not really bothered about what Parker brings, I know I’ve got an answer.”
The final undercard fight is nearing a conclusion, with Joe Murray taking on Matty Fagan in a 10-round super-lightweight fight. Murray is the more experienced man but was on the back foot early on – he may have just done enough.
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Hughie Fury is the more famous name on these shores, but what of the defending champion? Joseph Parker has honed his craft on the other side of the world, fighting outside New Zealand for the first time since 2014 – save for a quick jaunt to Samoa. Parker has made one successful defence of his belt, but has come to the UK in an effort to boost his profile:
“I feel like the UK is where the heavyweight scene is at, at the moment. We want to be a part of it. We feel it’s important to come here and make a statement.”
We’ll see what Parker can do in around 15 minutes, with the ring walks imminent.
“You could add a (c) to the fact it’s being shown on YouTube, which is the Fury family having form for postponing and cancelling bouts,” says Peter Davis. “Definitely put off some of the mainstream broadcasters from showing it. It’s a real shame.”
It certainly has happened – in Hughie’s case, he has had some mitigating health concerns, including a blood disorder that’s kept him out of the ring for 18 months.
So far tonight, we’ve seen Ireland’s Peter McDonagh defeat Shayne Singleton on points. McDonagh has enjoyed a late renaissance in his career – now 39, he’s unbeaten in 11 fights after what had looked to be a journeyman career. Jimmy Kelly floored Stiliyan Kostov in the fourth to win the WBO inter-continental super-welterweight title and, while I’ve been typing this, Yorkshire’s Josh Wale has beaten Don Broadhurst to defend his British bantamweight title. Broadhurst was knocked down in the 10th and failed to beat the count.
Preamble
The WBO world heavyweight belt is on the line but in truth, tonight is about earning a shot at Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, the division’s supreme fighters. It’s also being shown exclusively on YouTube, a sign of (a) the changing face of sport broadcasting and (b) this bout’s lack of pay-per-view punch.
Joseph Parker is the defending champion, edging out Andy Ruiz Jr to claim one of the belts that Tyson Fury vacated. Tyson’s cousin, Hughie, is the hometown challenger hoping to bring the title back into the family. Parker is ranked 5th among the world’s heavyweights by Ring magazine while Fury the younger does not feature in the top 10.
That said, recent boxing mega-fights have been unseemly affairs, and a good, clean contest without the extra spectacle is on the cards. Both fighters are unbeaten, and the bookies reckon it’s too close to call. This ‘best of the rest’ battle might deliver where boxing’s bigger occasions have fallen short. Ring walks are expected at 10.30pm.
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