Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.
Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parker wins by majority decision (115–113, 115–113, 114–114) |
Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr., billed as History,, with two judges scoring it 115–113 and the other 114–114.
History
Background
In late October, the Parker vs. Ruiz Jr. world title fight had been officially sanctioned by the
Discussions and negotiations began after Fury was expected to be stripped of his WBO title over inactivity and testing positive for cocaine.[5] With his sudden announcement that he would relinquish his heavyweight world titles due to his issues with various problems, it was unclear exactly how the WBA, and WBO would go about filling the vacancies. Before Fury vacated, Duco Events promoter Dean Lonergan announced in early October that he had been negotiating an alternative WBO title fight against Ruiz Jr., suggesting he had a chance of reaching a deal with promoter Bob Arum. He pointed out that the WBO rules state that the two best classified contenders will challenge for the title.[6] Arum told ESPN.com that he was in talks with the WBO about making it for the vacant title. He also said his experience dealing with Parker and his team has so far been a pleasure.[7]
Parker and Ruiz Jr. also had their previous encounters. It had been well-documented that the last time they met was during a sparring session in Las Vegas two years prior, Ruiz was said to have rattled the jaw of Parker so badly that he could not eat properly for three days. Parker said that his trainer Kevin Barry was looking for work for him. Ruiz Jr. had a lot more experience than himself and that he had underestimated Ruiz because of his size during their sparring session.[8]
Controversy
Several issues occurred before the fight was announced. One was the proposed date, with 10 December date preferred by Parker's handlers, Duco Events, and Ruiz preferring the fight to be held in January.[9] The 10 December date was eventually agreed upon.[10]
There was also speculation that the fight would be moved overseas when Auckland Council turned down Duco's bid for public funding. This meant that there was a chance the contest would be held in California, with Ruiz's promoter Arum giving Duco a seven-day deadline to find the supposed shortfall of several hundred thousand dollars. Sponsorship was provided by TAB, Gallagher and Burger King. Martin Snedden said the price of hosting the fight was around $4 million mark, and that this had not been reached despite the sponsor backing.[11]
Fight card
Weight Class | Weight | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | 200+ lbs. | Joseph Parker
|
def. | Andy Ruiz Jr. | MD | 12/12 | 3:00 | Note 1 |
Heavyweight | 200+ lbs. | Junior Fa | def. | Pablo Matías Magrini | TKO | 3/8 | 0:55 | |
Heavyweight | 200+ lbs. | David Letele | def. | Che Barlow | TKO | 4/4 | 2:12 | Note 2 |
Catchweight | 207 lbs. | John Parker | def. | Ash McConville | UD | 4/4 | 3:00 | |
Welterweight | 147 lbs. | Jeff Horn | def. | Ali Funeka | TKO | 6/10 | 0:30 | Note 3 |
Super bantamweight | 122 lbs. | Isaac Dogboe | def. | Julián Evaristo Aristule | TKO | 7/10 | 1:15 | Note 4 |
Super bantamweight | 122 lbs. | Shannon O'Connell | def. | Laura Soledad Griffa | UD | 8/8 | 2:00 | Note 5 |
^Note 2 Pre broadcast bout. Non-televised
Details
Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. was held at the
Tony Weeks served as the referee,[13] and Ramon Cerdan, Salven Lagumbay and Ingo Barrabas were the ringside judges. Four national anthems were sung. The U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", and Samoa national anthem, "The Banner of Freedom", was performed by Pene Pati of Sol3 Mio. The Mexican national anthem, "Himno Nacional Mexicano", was performed by Marco-Antonio Muniz. The New Zealand national anthem, "God Defend New Zealand", was performed by New Zealand singer Sophie Morris. The announcer of the night was Daniel Hennessey.
Broadcasting
As Parker had exclusive relationships with the broadcaster of Sky at the time of the fight, the telecast of the fight was aired on Sky Arena in New Zealand. The fight was televised through a pay-per-view (PPV) produced by Sky and Duco Events. Sixteen days out from the fight, Duco Events revealed it would cost New Zealand television viewers NZD$59.95 for the sporting event at Auckland's Vector Arena as it featured on Sky Arena.[14] The broadcast of the fight is said to stretch into 100 countries.
In Samoa, a free broadcast of the fight had been made possible through a partnership between Digicel Samoa and Apia Broadcasting Limited, owners of TV3. Digicel Samoa chief executive Rory Condon, TV3 owner Hans Joe Keil and TV3 managing director Verona Parker officially announced the partnership with a sponsorship of the broadcast worth approximately WS$30,000 tālā.[15] BoxNation confirmed via Twitter they would live stream the event on their website and television for their subscribers.[16] ESPN and Fox Sports were the main broadcasters that aired the fight in Brazil, Latin America and many Caribbean countries while BBC Online streamed the fight in all United Kingdom territories.[17]
The fight
In round one, both Parker and Ruiz were feeling each other out as they fought at a calm pace. Round two saw Ruiz land multiple combinations on Parker and was his best of the fight as he pushed him back against the ropes where Parker didn’t have any responds. Ruiz, seemingly taking some of the early rounds loss his momentum as Parker soon adjusted fighting on the back foot and took most of the mid rounds. In round six, Parker landed a hard right hand which Ruiz responded later with body shots. For the next few rounds it was like a chess match where both were going back and forth having their moments. In round eight, Ruiz put Parker back on the ropes. Parker landed multiple head shots in the center of the ring where Ruiz responded more heavy shots to the head as well though one shot was landed hard at the back of Parker’s head the referee Tony Weeks didn’t say anything. Round nine was arguably Parker’s best round as he picked his shots well and let his jab land more. In the final round with the fight in balance, Ruiz was coming forward at regular pace and still making the fight aggressive while Parker still in the back foot jabbing at distance and landing his own combinations. At the end of the round Parker finished with a body and head combination and ended it with a few jabs to Ruiz’s face. Afterwards, Parker won a Majority Decision over Ruiz Jr. with scores of 114-114, 115-113, 115-113.
The following afternoon of the fight, Sky television announced that they were taking legal action against a large number of people for streaming the event online illegally. It was estimated that the number of streamers reached into the triple digits. The broadcaster and promoter Duco Events have been battling to stop people illegally streaming Parker's fights. The day before, a court ruled against seven individuals found to have unlawfully streamed July's fight between Parker and Solomon Haumono. The judge found each of the seven had infringed Sky's copyright, granted an injunction restraining any further infringements and ordered each defendant to destroy any copies and pay nominal damages of NZD$100 as well as costs of NZD$2,670.[18]
International broadcasters | |
---|---|
Country | Broadcaster |
Australia | Fox Sports |
Seven Network | |
Brazil | ESPN
|
Fox Sports
| |
New Zealand | Sky Arena |
United Kingdom | BBC Online |
BoxNation | |
United States | HBO |
Samoa | TV3 |
Belt
The winner of the fight received the world championship belt by the WBO. The belt, valued at around $5000, is red with gold-plated motifs and encrusted crystals. It features the names of the two fighters and the bout details. After the belt arrived in New Zealand, it toured
Ruiz handled the belt during a promotion event, saying feeling the prize gave him motivation for the fight. Parker did not touch the belt during the same event.[20]
Recap
Aftermath
After the fight, Ruiz Jr. showed interest in a possible rematch. With many criticism over who was the winner, he had a valid case in regards to believing he dominated large periods of the contest. Although no rematch clause was included in the contract. Parker's camp showed very minimal interest in giving Ruiz another shot when a path towards bigger fights in England could be possible. Ruiz Jr.’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, supported his boxer's call for a rematch.[21]
A lot of criticism surfaced, believing Parker had lost the fight. Parker's promoters were disappointed on what they heard, saying some of the most vocal critics have been bitter towards Parker's success from early in his career. Duco's David Higgins said the criticism was "crap", and that the public deserved to be told the full story. Some, most notably
Scorecard
Salven Lagumbay | Ramon Cerdan | Ingo Barrabas | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parker | Ruiz | Parker | Ruiz | Parker | Ruiz |
114 | 114 | 115 | 113 | 115 | 113 |
References
- ^ "WBO World Heavyweight Title Fight – Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz". Duco Events. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ Duncan Johnstone. "WBO give green light to Joseph Parker fighting Andy Ruiz for heavyweight title in New Zealand". Stuff. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Tyson Fury vacates WBO and WBA heavyweight titles to deal with 'recovery'". BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ Duncan Johnstone. "WBO president hints Joseph Parker's road to a world title fight might not be so smooth". Waikato Times. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ Sachin Nakrani. "Tyson Fury set to be stripped of WBO title over 'inactivity' and drug claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ Richard Damerell. "Joseph Parker to target WBO title instead of Anthony Joshua". Sky Sports. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ Dan Rafael. "Parker-Ruiz in talks but unclear if vacant title would be at stake". ESPN. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ "'I have to get him back for that': Joseph Parker tells Andy Ruiz he wants revenge for sparring injury". One News. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ Patrick McKendry. "Boxing: Date an issue for Joseph Parker v Andy Ruiz Jr fight". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ Duncan Johnstone. "Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz agree to December date in New Zealand with WBO title the carrot". Stuff. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ "Duco confirm Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz fight for Auckland". News Hub. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ "Public tickets for Kiwi heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker's world title fight against Andy Ruiz are set to go on sale at midday". One News. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ "Andy Ruiz: I'm already two points down on the scorecards in Joseph Parker's town". Stuff. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ Liam Napier. "Joseph Parker TV pay-per-view price for Andy Ruiz fight revealed". Stuff. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ Joshua Lafoai. "Digicel, TV3 partnership team up to broadcast Parker-Ruiz fight in Samoa". Loop. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ^ "Joseph Parker Vs Andy Ruiz Jr to be shown on Boxnation". Check Hook Boxing. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ "NZ PARKER VS MEXICAN RUIZ LIVE ON SKY ARENA". Boxing Stream. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Sky takes down a 'huge' number of people illegally streaming Parker fight". Studd. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ Duncan Johnstone. "New Zealand public get chance to engage with WBO heavyweight belt". Stuff. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ Duncan Johnstone. "Andy Ruiz happy to get his hands on WBO belt before fighting Joseph Parker". Stuff. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ Liam Napier. "Andy Ruiz calls for rematch after close loss to Joseph Parker for WBO title". Stuff. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ Patrick McKendry. "Duco strike back at 'old school' NZ boxing criticism after Joseph Parker v Andy Ruiz bout". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ Patrick McKendry. "Boxing: Lance Revill quits NZPBA post due to Joseph Parker fight backlash". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 April 2017.