By Sam Volz: Joseph Parker won’t be able to fight Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce as previously planned for July due to his trainer Andy Lee not being available for the contest. Instead, the Parker-Joyce bout will be moved to September.
In the meantime, the ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs) will take another fight against a still to be determined opponent for July.
Lee’s wife will be having a baby in July, which derailed the original plans for the Parker vs. Joyce fight to take place in that month.
The 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joyce needs to push his career in hyperdrive, as he’s 36-years-old, having had a late start in his professional career after turning pro in 2017.
Although fighting former WBO heavyweight champion Parker (30-2, 21 KOs) is a good step up for Joyce, he needs to be fighting more frequently against better opposition.
In 2021, Joyce fought once, beating 41-year-old Carlos Takam by a sixth-round knockout. Takam is someone that Joyce should have been fighting at the very start of his career, not at this point.
“There was a problem: Joe Parker can’t fight because his trainer Andy Lee’s wife has a baby due apparently on the week of the fight, so he can’t train,” said Warren to iFL TV.
Joyce is ranked #1 WBO, #2 WBC, and #6 IBF. For his part, Parker is rated #2 WBO, #3 WBC, and #10 WBA.
Parker’s career has slowed dramatically since losing his WBO heavyweight title in a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision loss to Anthony Joshua in 2018.
The New Zealander Parker was beaten by Dillian Whyte in July 2018 by a 12-round decision in London.
Both of those fights were winnable ones for Parker, but he fought timidly, choosing not to attack the British heavyweights aggressively in the way he needed to have a fighting chance of winning.
The lack of aggression from Parker would resurface last year when he struggled badly to beat the shopworn 38-year-old journeyman Derek Chisora by a 12-round split decision.
Chisora looked like he required oxygen the entire fight, in a state of exhaustion, yet Parker fought like he was afraid to go after him. Also, Chisora even dropped Parker in the first round, which was surprising given how slow & faded Delboy looked.
Last December, Parker performed much better in the Parker-Chisora rematch, dropping Chisora three times in the contest. Still, Parker appeared afraid to finish off Chisora each time he had him hurt. He was there for the taking, but Parker was overly cautious about going for the coup de grace.
“We’ve had to push it back now to September, but in the meantime, Joe will be out,” said Warren.
“We’re looking at a couple of opponents for him. Hopefully, we’ll have that nailed down in the next 24/48 hours and announce that for July 2. Providing our man wins, then we’re on.”
