Joseph Parker Takes Out WBO Heavyweight Championship

Joseph Parker won the WBO Heavyweight Championship against Andy Ruiz by means of a majority decision on Saturday night, as reported by Brian Mazique for Forbes.

“Judges Ramon Cerdan and Ingo Barrabas scored the fight 115-113, while Salven Lagumbay had it 114-114 a draw. Both scores were feasible, and there could be a slight case made for Ruiz as the victor. At times, the 6’2″ Ruiz did a good job closing the distance and making Parker uncomfortable.” writes Mazique.

However, the boxing community had this to say in respect to Parker’s win:

@BoxingKingdom14 tweeted “Ruiz Jr looked great counter punching. JP’s jab looked good. Ruiz lacked footwork to get inside. JP looked lethargic & far from his best.”

“Many observers are taking shots at Ruiz’s weight, and those criticisms are valid. You will rarely see such flab in a world-title bout. That said, I’m not sure Ruiz is even a heavyweight if he’s in optimal shape. He looks to be carrying somewhere between 35-45 pounds of fat on his frame which is already smallish for the heavyweight division,” says Mazique.

“I’m not expecting everyone to have the physique of [Anthony] Joshua but to challenge for a Heavyweight title in the shape Ruiz was… disgracefu!” – tweets @Laceupboxing.

As far as 24 year old Parker is concerned, he will be taking a well deserved break over the Christmas period to reflect on the past 4 years he has been a professional boxer, and take time to improve before he’s back in the ring.

Article Source: Forbes, Brian Mazique, December 11, 2016

Image Source: Twitter – All Blacks