He was badly hurt at the end of the 10th and practically saved by the bell. He didn't do anything in the 11th just got battered from pillar to post and was hurt multiple times and being kept up by the ropes. The ref was getting in position to stop it several times and Parker failed to throw back or clinch. You could see the referee getting in position multiple times so its not like he didn't have plenty of warnings.
Wardley then landed a big right hand on the temple which caused Parker to drop his hands and fall back into the ropes which is terrible body language even if he did get his hands back up as Wardley went for the kill.
He wasn't throwing back, he didn't attempt to clinch and was doing nothing but trying to survive while a huge puncher was unleashing bombs even if some missed or was blocked or slipped he was getting through a lot and not letting him off the hook. Sure he might have punched himself but its far more likely Parker ends up face first on the canvas.
Had Parker tried to throw back or clinch I'd have maybe said it was early but really he did everything you shouldn't do in such a situation, he didn't help his own cause.
I think Parker got everything wrong tbh
From his weight to the gameplan right through to what he did and didn't do when hurt.
Why is he coming in at 260+ and packing on all this muscle? ****** quite frankly. I think he did this vs a terribly out of shape Bakole fresh off the couch and landed one then suddenly deluded himself he could punch a lot harder with the added weight. Really he is just a very average puncher regardless of his weight.
He could learn a lot from Wardley the supposed inexperienced guy when he gets buzzed he does the right thing every time and either throws back or clinches. Its a massive part of why he is so dangerous even when he is gassed and buzzed he and his opponent knows better than to trade with the guy and he either hurts them or buys himself a little time.
Parker is a very experienced fighter, he had been down and hurt and still gets up and fights. Fabio had used a lot of energy and Parker's eyes were fixed on him when they stopped it. If anything we were robbed how the fight really would had ended. Either Parker showed he had more in the tank or Fabio would had stopped him or won the last two rounds.
Fabio was down and some here are relieved that the ref stopped it, that was premature and an unnecessary stoppage.
I had commented at the start of the fight that we need new blood at HW and was going for Fabio to win but not like this. Still both guys showed a lot of good stuff in that fight.
If you care about someone you wouldn't let them box and would stop the fight during the ringwalks. Once the fight is happening its strange to suddenly rely on hypotheticals especially when those hypothetical help the a side fighter. Oh this could have happened...but it didnt.
Yes, at time I thought it was premature stoppage, if it shou of have been stopped at all as there is the boxing saying intelligently defending himself. Parker is no floyd mayweather but he did seem to be aware he needed to avoid the bombs whizzing past him and was intelligently defending himself.
But with hindsight with Parker saying Fabio win fair and square, it seems parkers admission that it was a fair call by ref, if only because he gave ref excuse to stop it and Parker annoyed at himself rather than at ref.
The ref intervened because he was worried it was only a matter of time before one of the haymakers was going to land
People complaining about the stoppage need to remember that in round 11 Parker sustained a nasty cut around his eye which was bleeding directly into the eye and causing him problems. At one point he actually temporarily stopped fighting to dab at the blood in his eye and was looking towards his corner - never a good sign. Howard Foster would've seen all of this, and taking the events of rounds 2 & 10 into consideration made a decision. Not being able to see with 100% vision against a brutal power puncher such as Wardley is extremely dangerous
People complaining about the stoppage need to remember that in round 11 Parker sustained a nasty cut around his eye which was bleeding directly into the eye and causing him problems. At one point he actually temporarily stopped fighting to dab at the blood in his eye and was looking towards his corner - never a good sign. Howard Foster would've seen all of this, and taking the events of rounds 2 & 10 into consideration made a decision. Not being able to see with 100% vision against a brutal power puncher such as Wardley is extremely dangerous
Solid point. I hear ya, I thought Parker was fine though, imo.
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