Zach Parker was left in disbelief following his defeat to Joshua Buatsi on Saturday night — a result that many observers felt robbed him of the biggest win of his career.
The 31-year-old from Derby has seen high-profile bouts against the likes of Demetrius Andrade and Willy Hutchinson fall through in the past, but against Buatsi, 20-1 (13 KOs), he was finally given the platform to announce himself on the world light-heavyweight stage.
Their 10-round main event at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena — with the WBA International light-heavyweight title at stake — went the distance, with Parker, 26-2 (18 KOs), confident he had done enough to win. But his hopes were crushed when MC Thomas Treiber read out the scorecards: 96-94 Buatsi, 96-94 Buatsi, 95-95 draw.
The verdict left Parker stunned and his world title ambitions momentarily in tatters. On Sunday, the Derby man took to social media platform X to express his frustration, joining the growing backlash from fans online.
“I can’t believe the decision went against me last night. Pretty much everyone at ringside and online said I won the fight and won it quite convincingly. I should have that title over my shoulder today and changed my family’s life.”
Former two-weight world champion and DAZN pundit Carl Frampton was among those who sided with Parker, scoring the bout a one-sided 99-91 in his favour. Esteemed boxing journalist Dan Rafael described the decision as ‘grotesque.’
However, not everyone viewed it as a robbery. Boxing News columnist Steve Bunce, writing for The Independent, offered a more measured take.
“The tiny differences in the scores for Parker and Buatsi mean that a round or two either way drastically changes the scores; that is not a robbery, that is a close decision.”
Buatsi himself has shared his view on the reaction to his victory over Parker.
