Scratch That, Joseph Parker’s Actually Fighting Dillian Whyte
Haha wow. Someone ring up Bob Arum and check if he’s doing okay. Might wanna send Bryant Jennings a care package while you’re at it too. Literally a day after those two were talking publically about a matchup with Joseph Parker like it’s all done and dusted, Parker has rocked up in London instead where he’s announced he’ll take on Dillian Whyte on July 28.
It’s one hell of a curveball, that’s for sure. Bit embarrassed to say I wrote a whole thing on the presumption that Parker was gonna fight Jennings and now bloody this! Ah well, wasn’t the only one who didn’t take David Higgins seriously enough when he shot down speculation of the Jennings fight all being sorted. Bob Arum told The Ring it was done. The vice president of Top Rank went on the record with Dan Rafael and ESPN. The premiere voices in American boxing were all chatting about this like it was official.
Which is weird, man. Very weird. These are not normal happenings, especially when Joseph Parker is co-represented by Bob Arum and Top Rank. Knowing how Duco operate, there might even be some repercussions from this but let’s just assume that Top Rank were aware that Parker was assessing other options. Sure puts this tweet into some more context then, aye?
Of course, Dillian Whyte is represented by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sports, which means another clash between Higgins and Hearn after their whole shtick became one of the main narratives in the Parker-Joshua journey. Eddie Hearn is basically just Dave Higgins with a more expensive suit and an English accent so it’s no surprise they clashed, even if it was all for the cameras.
And where this gets even crazier is that 14 hours before Parker-Whyte was announced, Dan Rafael reported that “multiple sources had told ESPN” that Dillian Whyte would be fighting Luis Ortiz on July 28. Even then there were still rumours of Joseph Parker (although that didn’t go the other way, with Parker’s alt opponent mentioned as Alexander Ustinov) but it looks like both Higgins and Hearn have pulled the rug out on a lot of people. 48 hours of spontaneous negotiations and they were both at the press conference with their fighters. Cheeky bastards.
Tell you what though, this is an excellent fight. As far as Joseph Parker goes it’s a much better fight than Bryant Jennings, which was destined to be a slow and long one. This bad boy will be a belter. This is legitimately a great fight between two fighters who have only ever lost once and both were against Anthony Joshua. Whyte is a knockout artist and his bombastic style, last seen pretty much ending Lucas Browne’s career on the AJ-JP undercard, should give Parker trouble while Parker’s speed and endurance are going to make things tough for the man they call the Bodysnatcher.
Whyte’s said some cocky things in the past, calling out a bunch of people. Nothing wrong with that in the boxing world. Whyte is a proper contender who, as Eddie Hearn put it, has never turned down a fight in his life. He came very close to fighting Kubrat Pulev in an IBF final-eliminator to earn a shot at Anthony Joshua (another Matchroom client). Then Luis Ortiz, a bloke as dangerous as anyone outside of Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua. That was a brutal proposition as well. Here he is taking on a former champion. Whyte ain’t here to play the long game.
He’s ranked in the top seven in all four major heavyweight divisions so there’s a lot to gain from this bout. Dillian Whyte fought Anthony Joshua in 2015 before AJ won his first world title belt. Beating Joseph Parker, a man who took AJ to his only judges’ decision, would prove that he’s ready to give Joshua another swing (Whyte beat him as an amateur). Parker’s got a name in England now. Whyte’s already the hipster’s heavyweight for people too cool to be on the Joshua bandwagon. This fight’s going to get people talking even before the fact that it should be a ridiculously good bout.
And, hey, how good is Joseph Parker for jumping straight back into the cauldron against a very serious opponent when he could have taken something more routine? This guy is all courage, no fear. He’s putting it on the line against a dangerous fighter in Whyte and if he can win it then a rematch with Joshua beckons in the future.
There you go then. Joseph Parker vs Dillian Whyte. Winner will be extremely close to a title shot but with two top ten fighters in the division (maybe even top five) going head to head, you don’t even need to worry about what’s at stake. This is simply a great fight. So good that it’s hurt Bob Arum’s feelings.
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