Tweet
By: Patrick McKendry
Sports writer
Joseph Parker's promoters will almost certainly appeal his recent defeat against Dillian Whyte after the scorecards showed the fight would have been scored a draw but for the second round headbutt not spotted by the referee.
Parker was winning the round until he was dropped by an illegal blow to the head which presumably wasn't seen by English ref Ian John Lewis. Instead of a 10-9 points victory for the New Zealander in that round, the judges had to score it 10-8 in Whyte's favour.
Australian judge Phil Austin scored the fight 114-111, Frenchman Christophe Fernandez 115-110 and Englishman Steve Gray 113-112. Had the headbutt been spotted and scored accordingly, Gray would have given the fight to Parker, who dropped Whyte in the final round, and Austin would have scored it a draw, with Fernadez, who for some reason scored the first round to Whyte, giving it to the Englishman.
A draw in front of 18,000 people at London's O2 Arena would have set the pair up for a potentially lucrative re-match. Now, however, Whyte has all the momentum and is eyeing a re-match of a different sort – a big-money fight against countryman Anthony Joshua.
A Duco spokesman said today: "It's clear that the clash of heads in the second round had a significant impact on the fight – both in terms of the scorecards and Joseph's performance in the middle rounds.
"In light of what is clear evidence of a significant error by the officials, there is a legitimate question as to whether the result should stand. That's a question Duco will be asking the sanctioning bodies on Joseph's behalf."
This is new territory for Parker and Duco, who will likely approach the sanctioning bodies for redress.
And it's a question that should be asked because Parker, after a dominant first round, struggled to respond after being stunned by Whyte's head. It was a concussive blow which badly hurt his equilibrium and probably his confidence.
Parker was also down in the ninth round – this time to a legal blow, a left hook from Whyte. But he was quickly back to his feet – a testament to his toughness and resilience. How he came back to knock down Whyte with a straight right hand in the 12th round is anyone's guess.
It is understood Parker's painful and swollen left ear came not from the legal blow but from the headbutt.
Sports writer
Joseph Parker's promoters will almost certainly appeal his recent defeat against Dillian Whyte after the scorecards showed the fight would have been scored a draw but for the second round headbutt not spotted by the referee.
Parker was winning the round until he was dropped by an illegal blow to the head which presumably wasn't seen by English ref Ian John Lewis. Instead of a 10-9 points victory for the New Zealander in that round, the judges had to score it 10-8 in Whyte's favour.
Australian judge Phil Austin scored the fight 114-111, Frenchman Christophe Fernandez 115-110 and Englishman Steve Gray 113-112. Had the headbutt been spotted and scored accordingly, Gray would have given the fight to Parker, who dropped Whyte in the final round, and Austin would have scored it a draw, with Fernadez, who for some reason scored the first round to Whyte, giving it to the Englishman.
A draw in front of 18,000 people at London's O2 Arena would have set the pair up for a potentially lucrative re-match. Now, however, Whyte has all the momentum and is eyeing a re-match of a different sort – a big-money fight against countryman Anthony Joshua.
A Duco spokesman said today: "It's clear that the clash of heads in the second round had a significant impact on the fight – both in terms of the scorecards and Joseph's performance in the middle rounds.
"In light of what is clear evidence of a significant error by the officials, there is a legitimate question as to whether the result should stand. That's a question Duco will be asking the sanctioning bodies on Joseph's behalf."
This is new territory for Parker and Duco, who will likely approach the sanctioning bodies for redress.
And it's a question that should be asked because Parker, after a dominant first round, struggled to respond after being stunned by Whyte's head. It was a concussive blow which badly hurt his equilibrium and probably his confidence.
Parker was also down in the ninth round – this time to a legal blow, a left hook from Whyte. But he was quickly back to his feet – a testament to his toughness and resilience. How he came back to knock down Whyte with a straight right hand in the 12th round is anyone's guess.
It is understood Parker's painful and swollen left ear came not from the legal blow but from the headbutt.
Comment