By Jake Donovan
Joseph Parker was facing a number of firsts in his battle with Jason Bergman, but had no issues in putting away the pudgy American southpaw in eight rounds Saturday evening at Faleata Sports Complex in Apia, Samoa.
The unbeaten heavyweight prospect scored three official knockdowns on the night before closing the show at 1:02 of round eight.
The night represented Parker honoring his Samoan ancestry, fighting in Samoa for the first time in a career largely spent in his New Zealand homeland. In Bergman he also had the first southpaw opponent to date in the pro ranks, though little in the form of a competitive matchup.
It was clear from the opening bell that Parker - who recently celebrated his 24th birthday - had knockout on his mind. He was given a very brief scare when Bergman was able to fend off an early attack and respond with a left hand shot upstairs to catch the attention of the crowd favorite.
The moment lasted barely beyond that, with Parker shaking off the blow and going right back on the attack. His aggression increased in round two, producing the first knockdown of the fight. A flurry of shots was capped by a left hook that forced Bergman to the canvas. The sequence came late enough in the round to where after beating the count he was able to make it to the bell and back to his corner.
What he wasn't able to do was win rounds or turn the fight in his favor at any point in the evening.
Parker maintained his focus even as the threat of a knockout wasn't always evident. As Bergman tapped into his survival skills, Parker remained active, throwing in combination and working on cutting off the ring. It gave him some much needed rounds, amassing just 15 listed rounds on paper (33 minutes of ring action in real time) in his previous six fights, all of which ended in knockout.
Both fighters were in unfamiliar territory as the bell sounded to begin round seven. Bergman had never fought beyond the 6th round of any given fight in his career, while Parker has only fought beyond that point on three other occasions - a pair of 7th round knockouts and a 10-round decision, all of which came in 2014.
He was well on his way to another 7th round stoppage, with Bergman beaten to the canvas late in the frame for the bout's second knockdown. The sequence came courtesy of a flurry of headshots upstairs punctuated by a digging hook to the liver to force Bergman to a knee.
The left-handed boxer once again beat the count, but found himself overwhelmed early in round eight. Parker let his hands go like a boxer ready to put an end to the night, doing just that in dropping Bergman for a third and final time, this time for good as the referee halted the contest.
Parker advances to 18-0 (16KOs) with the win, registering his seventh consecutive knockout. The 31-year old Bergman falls to 25-12-2 (16KOs), suffering his third career stoppage loss.
While it appears that Parker can stand to season a little more, the insistence from his team is that a title shot is well within reach in 2016.
It's worth noting that Parker is rated in the Top 15 by all four major sanctioning bodies, including a #3 ranking among the World Boxing Organization (WBO) top heavyweights. He will likely move up in the wake of #1 contender Charles Martin recently laying claim to the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) title, another belt well within Parker's reach once the next set of ratings are released.
The 6'4" boxer - who trains in Las Vegas - has put in work with reigning unbeaten heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder and former World champion Wladimir Klitschko in the past. As for being ready for the real thing? Don't tell his handlers otherwise.
"2016 is the year we are going to take Joseph Parker to the heavyweight championship of the world," promised head trainer Kevin Barry after the fight.
The bout aired live on Fox Sports Australia,
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
