Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora face off in an all-British heavyweight battle on July 27 at the O2 Arena, and Joseph Parker has weighed in with his fight pick.
Chisora, 40, faced Parker back-to-back in 2021, losing first a split-decision then a more conclusive unanimous decision.
The New Zealander went on to star in one of 2022’s premier heavyweight bouts against Joyce. The back-and-forth slugfest ended in the eleventh when Joyce caught him flush as he was coming forward, a sore knockout and the first of Parker’s career.
Given the results on his record, it may be no surprise that Parker – who is riding high from two big victories – told Seconds Out he is backing Joyce come July.
“I feel like Joyce, with the pressure he presents, will be too much for Chisora. Chisora is always tough, always comes ready, always applies the pressure, but I feel like at this stage of his career he’s not really the same fighter he was before.”
Joyce will step through the ropes a favourite to score the 17th win of his career, however questions remain as to just how much the two stoppage losses to Zhilei Zhang have affected him. He has since bounced back with a low-level victory over Kash Ali.
Chisora enters the ring having won just two of his last six, a points win over American Gerald Washington in August of last year being his latest effort.
At the announcement presser, he said he was more ‘vicious’ than his countryman.
“Joe is not going to win. He can train as much as he wants, but when it comes to the real grind of it, I’m more vicious than him. “I fear no man. There’s no feeling each other out in the first round – I’m going in.”
