Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker
Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Title(s) on the line | WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joshua defeated Parker by UD (Steve Gray: 118–110, Ian Scott: 119–109, Steve Weisfeld: 118–110) |
Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker, billed as Road to Undisputed, was a
Background
It was reported that
According to a Tweet from Parker on 15 November 2017, he was offered less than half of what was paid to
According to Hearn on 11 December 2017, a deal was very close to being announced with the
On 8 January 2018, the Principality Stadium in
Weigh-in
Joshua and Parker both came in lighter compared to their respective previous bouts. Parker weighed in first at 236.7 pounds, his lightest since he fought Solomon Haumono in July 2016. Joshua weighed 242.2 pounds, his lightest since 2014 when he fought Michael Sprott.[18]
The fight
Joshua was forced to go the distance to defeat Parker via a 12-round
CompuBox punch stats showed that Joshua landed 139 of 383 punches thrown (36.3%) and Parker landed 101 of his 492 thrown (20.5%). Joshua used his reach advantage and utilised his jab more often from round seven and onwards. In total, Joshua landed 93 jabs with a connect rate of 34.4%. Parker landed 49 jabs with a much lower connect rate of 15.5%. Parker was the busier power puncher of the two, landing 52 power punches which included 29 to the body of Joshua (29.5%). Joshua was more accurate with his power shots in landing 46 with a connect rate of 40.7%.[21]
Post fight
After the fight, Joshua explained his game plan for the fight, "My strategy in there was kind of stick behind the jab. It’s one of the most important weapons. The old saying is the right hand could take you around the block, but a good jab will take you around the world. And that secured another championship belt. So I stuck behind the jab and I made sure anything that was coming back, I was switched on, I was focused and 12 rounds, baby! I thought it was hard, right?"
Parker was humble in defeat and stated he would back stronger, "Today I got beaten by a better champion, bigger man. A lot to work on. It was a good experience being here. Thank you all for the opportunity to fight in this big stadium. We’re gonna go back, train hard, plan again and come back stronger. No regrets, you know, take it on the chin. … So we’ll be back again." When asked what he would do different, Parker replied, "Work harder. Come back stronger, more punches. But I would love to have another go. Just back to the drawing board."[22]
During the post fight press conference, Parker's team stated the referee did not speak English, whereas Joshua and his promoter Hearn disagreed and said he spoke English fluently.[23]
Viewership and revenue
In Cardiff, the fight drew a live gate audience of 78,000 spectators at the Principality Stadium,[24] generating approximately $10.4 million in live gate revenue.[25]
On Sky Box Office, the fight sold 1.457 million pay-per-view buys in the United Kingdom.[26] At a viewing price of £19.95[27] ($27), the fight grossed approximately £29.1 million ($40 million) in pay-per-view revenue.[citation needed]
The fight was shown live in the United States on Showtime in the afternoon. The live showing averaged 346,000 viewers and peaked at 379,000 viewers. A replay was shown later in the evening which saw an increase. The replay averaged 430,000 viewers and peaked at 483,000 viewers. Nielsen Media Research., who released the figures do not have the facility to measure whether the same customers that watched the live showing tuned in for the replay. These figures were an increase for Joshua on Showtime, as his last fight on Showtime against Carlos Takam in October 2017 averaged 334,000 viewers.[28]
Fight card
Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | Anthony Joshua (c) | def. | Joseph Parker (c)
|
UD | 12 | Note 1 | |
Heavyweight | Alexander Povetkin | def. | David Price | KO | 5/12 | ||
Bantamweight | Ryan Burnett (c) | def. | Yonfrez Parejo | PTS | 12 | Note 2 | |
Lightweight | Anthony Crolla | def. | Edson Ramirez | PTS | 10 | ||
Welterweight | Josh Kelly | def. | Carlos Molina | PTS | 10 | ||
Lightweight | Joe Cordina | def. | Hakim Ben Ali | TKO | 3/10 | ||
Light heavyweight | Joshua Buatsi | def. | Bartlomiej Grafka | PTS | 6 | ||
Super middleweight | Mose Auimatagi Jnr | def. | Morgan Jones | TKO | 6 |
^Note 1 For IBF, WBA (Super), WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.
^Note 2 For WBA (Super) bantamweight title.
Broadcasting
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2018) |
Country | Broadcaster |
---|---|
Austria | DAZN |
Australia | Main Event |
Belarus | Match TV |
Belgium | VOOsport World 1 |
Bulgaria | Diema Sport |
Croatia | RTL Televizija
|
Czech Republic | Nova Sport 1
|
Denmark | TV3+
|
Estonia | Viasat Sport Baltic
|
Finland | Viaplay |
France | SFR Sport |
Germany | DAZN |
Hungary | Sport2 |
Ireland | Sky Box Office |
Israel | Sport 1 |
Italy | Sky Sport Plus |
Latvia | Viasat Sport Baltic
|
Liechtenstein | DAZN |
Lithuania | Viasat Sport Baltic
|
Luxemburg | VOOsport World 1 |
Moldova | Pro TV |
Netherlands | RTL 7 |
New Zealand | SKY Arena
|
Norway | Viaplay |
Panama | RPC Channel 4
|
Poland | TVP Sport |
Romania | Pro TV |
Russia | Match TV |
Samoa | TV3 |
Slovakia | Dajto
|
Sweden | Viaplay |
Switzerland | DAZN |
United Arab Emirates | OSN Sports |
United Kingdom | Sky Box Office |
United States | Showtime |
Sub-Saharan Africa | Kwesé Sports |
Latin America | Canal Space |
See also
References
- ^ "Joshua beats Parker on points". BBC Sport. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua beats Joseph Parker on points in heavyweight unification". Guardian. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ "Joshua, Parker Camps Open Talks For Unification Bout in March - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ^ WBN. "Parker wants Joshua, has Browne, Jennings, Povetkin alternatives". WBN - World Boxing News. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ^ "Joseph Parker sends Joshua angry tweet after first fight offer - Hearn hits back". GiveMeSport. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ "Parker's Promoter: Hearn is Willing To Budge on Joshua Terms - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker have made progress in talks for a unification clash, says Eddie Hearn". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker is 'achievable', says Eddie Hearn as talks rumble on". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
- ^ "Hearn: Joshua vs. Parker Deal is Close, We're Ready To Overpay". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ "Joshua-Parker nears reality as cash split settled". ESPN.com. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Parker Would Get 55% of Split in Joshua Rematch, Says Higgins". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ McKenna, Chris (31 March 2018). "Anthony Joshua to receive stunning record purse for Joseph Parker fight". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Joshua-Parker: Principality Stadium in Cardiff Confirmed Site". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ "Joshua vs Parker: Anthony Joshua faces Joseph Parker in unification fight live on Sky Sports Box Office". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- ^ "Joshua vs. Parker confirmed for March 31". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker To Air Live on Showtime". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker: What time is the fight tomorrow, what TV channel is it on and what are the odds?". The Telegraph. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "Full Joshua v Parker Weigh In Results – Including Undercard". Boxing News and Views. 30 March 2018. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "Joshua unifies 3 belts, wants Wilder fight next". ESPN.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "Joshua vs Parker: Anthony Joshua completes wide points win over Joseph Parker in Cardiff". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker - CompuBox Punch Stats". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua Decisions Joseph Parker To Unify World Titles". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Team Parker Claim Ref Couldn't Speak English, Joshua Disagrees". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker round-by-round scores from our judges". The Independent. 1 April 2018. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
- Yahoo Sports. 12 June 2018.
- Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ Gray, James (31 March 2018). "Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker pay-per-view: Price, how to buy and book the fight". Daily Express.
- ^ "Joshua-Parker: Showtime's First Replay Peaked at 483,000 Viewers". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.