Comments Thread For: Joseph Parker Edges Andy Ruiz To Capture WBO Title

[low blows]

Yes it's more than obvious when the fight was in the balance Ruiz was more than content to sit there and save energy. As much as Chisora is an old warhorse that is on the other side he would have found a way to get the most out of his body down the stretch if he fought Parker in a similar scenario.

Ps when a fighter is young and has these issues usually they can't overcome them and they fade away. His promoter all but gave up on him by signing to fight this fight in New Zealand. That speaks volumes on what "Bub" sees for the future of El Gordo Andy.

[whoseyourdaddy]

i thought the 2 judges scores were right on parker won by 2 points , yes parker should have had more offense output but he won give the kid credit hes only 24 and young and not used to big fight pressure yet , also he displayed very fast hands faster than ruiz who everyone thought was faster , his jab was good but should have been used even more and his movement was good , all the brits going on about how Joshua would destroy parker just remember Joshua has fought NOBODY just pushovers and bums his chin is still suspect until he fights a good contender ,at least parkers fought 2 quality fighters in ruiz and takam with rocks for chins who fought back , so don't assume anything about that matchup yet.

how in hell you say Parker looked faster than Ruiz when clearly Ruiz beat Parker in every single exchanged out landing him by 2 or 3 punches every time, clearly you were watching what you wanted to watch. the only thing parker did better than Ruiz was tha jab and even at that more than half of those jabs were caught by Ruiz's gloves.

[joe strong]

I had it 115-113 for Parker but this was no gimme. Ruiz git the better of every exchange they had in the ring. He took the early rounds & late rounds but he coasted in the middle rounds which cost him the fight. Ruiz did some nice countering & inside work but nit enough in the mid rounds. Good win for Parker & Ruiz need to drop another 15lbs at least. He showed he could throw 12 rounds. Parker showed a good jab at times but he got hit cleanly a lot & when he was lazy with his jab he got countered by a big straight right. Ruiz gave this fight away in those middle rounds. If he throws those lazy jabs against Wilder, Joshua or Klitschko he will be on his back. He seemed to fade late in both against Takam & Ruiz. Hughie Fury will get his shot next. Parker can win that one but I have it a 50/50 fight.

[bender2000]

how in hell you say Parker looked faster than Ruiz when clearly Ruiz beat Parker in every single exchanged out landing him by 2 or 3 punches every time, clearly you were watching what you wanted to watch. the only thing parker did better than Ruiz was tha jab and even at that more than half of those jabs were caught by Ruiz's gloves.

yeah and it must have been that non stop work rate of ruiz throwing punches all round long that won it right.

[BluDivision]

Lol... Ruiz won this fight!! He was the better technician!

[KillaCamNZ]

I really wanted to re-watch this fight to see how a handful of fans came to the conclusion that Ruiz won this fight, so I gave it a go.

Live, it seemed like Ruiz got the better of Parker when the distance was closed and he threw punches in bunches. At the time, I thought that's the only way he would have taken some rounds, but even then it wasn't enough. Looking back at those exchanges, it became quite clear that he landed less than I initially thought. A number of those 2nd, 3rd and fourth punches were glancing blows, worn on the shoulder, or rolled out of the way of. Even discounting those exchanges slightly on second viewing, Ruiz is well short of doing enough to win the fight.

I get that people wanted to see more out of Parker, and it's disappointing we didn't (as fans) get anything more explosive. But the gameplan from Parker was pretty clear, and it worked. Ruiz tried his best but he couldn't put leather on Parker, and he had to eat jabs for 12 rounds just to get a few openings.

There's a reason why Ruiz's face was a mess afterwards, and Parker barely had a scratch. It's been noted be a few people that Ruiz looked bloody awful in the locker room afterwards.

People are confusing disappointment, with the genuine belief that Parker lost.

[Teddy05]

I thought Ruiz edged it. Either way is was an average fight between 2 very limited fighters

Parkers biggest issue going forward is the he can no longer rely on being the bigger man and back peddling with an inconsistent jab. I honestly don't see a way he can beat Joshua, Klitschko or wilder with his average defence and non existent inside game considering he wIll have to fight like the smaller man going forward

At the end of the day it's the same story as the Takam fight. If the guy puts his foot down a bit more, he beats Parker. It's not a good sign going forward, and forward is the way Parker will have to fight to win against these bigger guys

[Quiksilva]

I had Parker winning after Round 5. Ruiz was gassed after Round 5 onward and didn't do much like he did in the early rounds.

Every round was awarded to Parker after 5 when Ruiz looked tired already, Parker he moved a lot, kept the distance and boxed very smart. He landed cleaner and more accurate punching as well countering Ruiz when he tried to come on the inside

I think Kevin Barry's strategy was to ware Ruiz down in the later rounds till he had no more stamina in the tank (hence a lot of body punching from Parker) and it seemed like it worked, though he was expecting a stoppage but that didn't happen

[keith_head]

I really wanted to re-watch this fight to see how a handful of fans came to the conclusion that Ruiz won this fight, so I gave it a go.

Live, it seemed like Ruiz got the better of Parker when the distance was closed and he threw punches in bunches. At the time, I thought that's the only way he would have taken some rounds, but even then it wasn't enough. Looking back at those exchanges, it became quite clear that he landed less than I initially thought. A number of those 2nd, 3rd and fourth punches were glancing blows, worn on the shoulder, or rolled out of the way of. Even discounting those exchanges slightly on second viewing, Ruiz is well short of doing enough to win the fight.

I get that people wanted to see more out of Parker, and it's disappointing we didn't (as fans) get anything more explosive. But the gameplan from Parker was pretty clear, and it worked. Ruiz tried his best but he couldn't put leather on Parker, and he had to eat jabs for 12 rounds just to get a few openings.

There's a reason why Ruiz's face was a mess afterwards, and Parker barely had a scratch. It's been noted be a few people that Ruiz looked bloody awful in the locker room afterwards.

People are confusing disappointment, with the genuine belief that Parker lost.

If the game plan results in one judge scoring it a draw, and you getting a narrow and extremely debatable points victory, something is wrong.

That could be because Ruiz is genuinely very good, it could be because Parker didn't execute properly, it could be because the game plan is the wrong option, or it could be because of all of these. I tend to think it's a combination of the the above, but the major fault being in the game plan. You have to fight to your strengths.

The other elephant in the room is that it could also be that Parker is just not very good.

[KillaCamNZ]

If the game plan results in one judge scoring it a draw, and you getting a narrow and extremely debatable points victory, something is wrong.

That could be because Ruiz is genuinely very good, it could be because Parker didn't execute properly, it could be because the game plan is the wrong option, or it could be because of all of these. I tend to think it's a combination of the the above, but the major fault being in the game plan. You have to fight to your strengths.

The other elephant in the room is that it could also be that Parker is just not very good.

I debate the first point - one judge had it a draw, two didn't, and Parker won. A judges interpretation of what they see can be one hell of a variable. But regarding gameplan...

Everyone pretty much did as expected, Ruiz came forward looking to turn it into a short-handed scrap, whereas Parker kept distance and threw his jab at will. The fight really wasn't going to go any other way.

I'm not too sure what you mean by "you have to fight to your strengths". Parker did exactly that - his jab and his foot movement are his strengths. The most likely way Ruiz could have beaten Parker was to turn it into a flurry-fest inside - why would Parker even give him the opportunity? That would be allowing his opponents strength.

Parker could very well be overrated, absolutely. But for now, he's a champ and he's unbeaten with two good opponents on his record. AJ and Wilder combined, have 1.

He's on the right track.