NO ONE absolutely knows how or why heavyweights Joseph Parker and Jack Massey were paired up this weekend in Manchester, but it happened and one can only hope the match burns a little. At least one of the two careers is in dire need of a head start.
Though unusual, the fight between Parker and Massey is indicative of two heavyweights in the wilderness right now. For Parker, who was last seen getting flattened by Joe Joyce in round 11 of a mini classic in September, it represented a chance to get back on the horse and reboot again to climb the world rankings, while for Massey, whose career as a heavyweight is in its infancy, this fight is the ladder he may have been asking for for a while.
Certainly, if you factor in experience and seasoned experience, the outcome of Parker vs. Massey would be predictable enough. After all, it is Parker who has competed at much higher weights and levels, both in history and in recent times, and it is Parker himself, who entered the fight with victory over the men. he as Andy Ruiz Jnr, Derek Chisora (twice), Hughie Fury and Carlos Takam.
However, while Massey can’t compare those wins to any of his record, he’s only lost once in 21 professional games and has won all three of his last three in injury time. hour. If nothing else, the 29-year-old, dubbed “One Smack”, would be confident. He will get used to the feeling of victory and, although a newcomer to heavyweight, he will have every belief that his smaller stature and superior speed can make Joseph Parker feel relatively bulky in the ring.
Usually, of course, Parker is the smaller one in heavyweight fights. It’s also an advantage he often uses, frequently overtaking opponents with his faster hands and feet and accumulating rounds on the scoreboard.
Here, however, he probably won’t have such luxury. Massey, who has never weighed more than 205 pounds during his nine-year professional career and has never officially competed in heavyweight, will clearly be the slightly smaller and faster man on the night of the teamfight. Whether he can use it well, however, is another matter.
So far, Massey, 20-1 (11), has so far only played against one real opponent, whom he beat over 12 decisive rounds in 2019. That person is Richard Riakporhe and the match. , though ended, proved to be a step too far for Massey, then campaigning as a heavy cruiser.
Now, against Parker, 30-3 (21), he will be competing at the same level – if not higher. Furthermore, he will meet someone in Parker, who, even when skilled and possibly diminished due to some past skirmishes with top boxers, is still a 31-year-old man, with Fresh and ambitious enough to counter the threat of an opponent who, until he proves otherwise, seems a bit out of place here. To prove it, Parker should have tried to force a stop, but the more likely outcome, given New Zealanders’ propensity to go on excursions, is a decisive win.
Elsewhere on the card, while Jack Massey mixes it up with a big name at heavyweight, old rival Richard Riakporhe decided to fight with an inferior but no less respected name in the cruiser class.
His first real step as a professional came from Poland Krzysztof Glowacki, 32-3 (20), who has certainly seen better days but is a former WBO cruiser belt holder and a crafty puncher to boot. At 36, he won’t give Riakporhe the kind of intimidation that Londoners probably need to really reach their full potential, but he will certainly be asking him questions and concerns. new look that if Riakporhe takes him lightly, could make things interesting for a few rounds.
Riakporhe is, of course, undefeated 15-0 (11) and in recent times has emerged as one of the hardest-working teams in the country. Direct and malevolent, the 33-year-old possesses a brutal right hand and a deadly swing and has used this power effectively, stopping the likes of Fabio Turchi (TKO 2), Deion Jumah (KO 8) and Olanrewaju Durodola (TKO 5) for about a year. He is tall and muscular at 6’5 and seems to have become an increasingly difficult to avoid boxer, so his approach is very deliberate and calm, and also very assertive when he starts. act.
For his part, Glowacki has seen most of the styles to date as a professional, but may not have met someone like Riakporhe before. He struggled quite significantly with Lawrence Okolie’s mediocre style in 2021, stopping after six innings, and has since only beaten Francisco Rivas Ruiz 16-3 through extra minutes. time in the fourth inning last April. All signs therefore point to a man’s huge decline, which, if form matters to anything, will lead to Riakporhe claiming the biggest sum in his career. His career is somewhere about halfway through.
Perhaps the most competitive fight on the Manchester bottom card is a midfield fight Ekow Essuman and Chris Kongowith both British and Commonwealth titles at stake.
Essuman, undefeated 18-0 (7), won those two belts in 2021 stopping Chris Jenkins for eight rounds. Since then, he has successfully defended them against Danny Ball (W KO 6), Darren Tetley (UD 12) and Samuel Anwi, whom he defeated in 12 rounds last September. At 33, the Nottingham man is enjoying the best form of his career and enjoying the title of champion.
Meanwhile, Kongo is three years younger than Essuman at 30 and has lost only once in 15 professional matches (with seven wins in injury time). That loss came to Michael McKinson in 2021, when he was down more than 10 rounds, although Kongo reacted well after that, winning two games, including a decisive 10-round win over Sebastian Formella last year.
Stylistically, this fight will be much more popular with Kongo than the one against McKinson, but it’s still hard to see other than Essuman continuing his fine form, most likely on points.
