THE boxing world is waiting to see whom Anthony Joshua will fight next. Joseph Parker, the WBO heavyweight titlist, has been making plenty of noise, although bizarrely the New Zealander’s promoter David Higgins has taken gleefully to the airwaves, setting out their bottom line while waxing lyrical about Joshua’s supposed “glass jaw.” That talk is traditionally the stuff of promotional hype, once a fight has been made, arguing why your man is going to win. So far it’s unclear how well negotiations are progressing.
But if Parker does get the fight with Joshua, now the unified IBF and WBA heavyweight champion, will the New Zealander be able to live up to his promoter’s pre-fight boasts?
Boxing News asked Andy Ruiz, the heavyweight who fought Joseph Parker for the vacant WBO belt last year, how he would compare Parker to Anthony Joshua.
“I think it’ll be a good match up. It could go either way,” Ruiz said.
“I think Joshua’s a little too strong. Joseph didn’t hurt me at all, not even one time. Joseph Parker’s going to have to do something different to what he normally does to win this fight. But Joshua is pretty good. He stays tall too much. He never had a pressure fighter on him all the time. It would be a good match up.”
For the full interview with Ruiz, including his view of the decision in his fight with Parker in New Zealand, don’t miss next week’s issue of Boxing News.
