Joseph Parker is definitely a name to be reckoned with in the heavyweight boxing category. From his amateur boxing career, the WBO heavyweight champion has made his way to notoriety, fame, and the awards that go with it.
Parker was already an amazing boxer before he became a professional. At this stage of his career, he represented New Zealand in a memorable way at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Joseph Parker Biography
Joseph was born on 9 January 1992 in South Auckland. He is the middle child of his Samoan parents, Dempsey and Sala Parker, and was born on 9 January 1992 in South Auckland. Joseph owes his early interest in boxing to his father, Dempsey, who was named after Jack Dempsey, an iconic American boxer.
From the age of three, all the toys Joseph played with were related to boxing. His father began training him and his younger brother John at a very young age. When Joseph was ten years old, he joined a boxing club where he was trained by former boxer Manny Santos and Grant Axell.
The Beginning Of His Career
Joseph had his first real fight at the age of twelve. His amateur career was eventful, he had 66 fights before he became a professional. When he was sixteen years old, he went international. At the age of eighteen and nineteen, he won the New Zealand Amateur Heavyweight Champion title in 2010 and 2011. He continued to win at the local and international levels. In 2009 he also won the New Zealand Elite National Championships and finished second in the New Zealand Elite National Championships with a narrow defeat to Junior Fa.
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He represented his country at the AIBA Junior World Championships in Azerbaijan, where he won the bronze medal. At this tournament, he competed against players such as Yusuf Açik (Turkey), Yuniel Castro Chavez (Cuba, quarter-finals), and Filip Hrgovic (Croatia, semi-finals). From there he moved on to the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, where he won silver after a defeat on points against Tony Yoka (France). At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he defeated Didier Bence (Canada) in a knockout system. He then lost to Tariq Abdul Haqq in the quarter-finals by a majority decision of three of the five judges.
Parker won his first gold medal at the 2011 Ararufa Games in Darwin, Australia. He defeated Jean Tuisamoa and Jake Ageidu, each with one interruption, to play Emile Gineste (Tahiti) in the final. Parker finished the game in the first round. He continued to rise through the ranks and took part in the China Open tournament in Guiyang. He reached the final where he defeated Ospanov Doszham (Kazakhstan) by six points.
Joseph ended his days in amateur boxing with a win over Johan Linde (Australia) at the 50th annual boxing tournament in Belgrade, taking his third gold medal.
Parker’s Professional Career
Joseph became something of a boxing sensation at that time. He began his professional career with a technical knockout victory over Dean Garmonsway at SkyCity’s Convention Center in Auckland. After a series of fights and victories in New Zealand and America, he competed against the South African Francois Botha and defeated the former heavyweight contender in the second round. Parker extended his professional unbeaten streak to seven by knocking out the then 33-year-old ex-champion Afa Tatupu in the second round. This fight earned him the title of National Boxing Federation of New Zealand.
In 2014, Joseph Parker won the interim Pan-Asian Boxing Championship and defeated the Brazilian Marcelo Luiz Nascimento in the seventh round. This fight, which was the harbinger of Wladimir Klitschko’s heavyweight title defense, was also Parker’s eighth consecutive victory as a professional boxer. In his next match, he knocked out the American WBO Oriental heavyweight champion Brian Minto and beat him into submission in the seventh round.
For the remainder of 2014, Parker continued to develop in three more fights – triumphing in every fight. He was also the first to beat the American Keith Thompson and the Bahamian Sherman Williams. He then eliminated Brazilian Irineu Beato Costa Junior in the fourth round in December 2014. This win earned him Irineu’s title as WBO Latino Heavyweight World Champion.
In his year 2015, he defended and retained his Pan Asian Boxing Federation heavyweight title against Jason Pettaway. After spending three weeks in Florida as a sparring partner of boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko, Parker would play four more games in 2015. He fought against Yakup Saglam, Bowie Tupou, Kali Meehan, and Daniel Martz. He ended 2015 by adding the WBA Oceania and WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council heavyweight belt to his collection.
On January 23, 2016, Jason Bergman proved to be Parker’s toughest challenge in a long time as he used the dazzling Parker to win and extended the game into the round of eight. This brought his professional record to an impressive 18-0. In May 2016, Parker defeated Carlos Takam by unanimous decision after twelve rounds, a match that earned him a date with reigning champion Anthony Joshua. He then put Solomon Haumono out of action in the fourth round of another routine victory. In his October match, he knocked out the German Alexander Dimitrenko four times in the match, with the match finally decided in Parker’s favor in the third round.
On December 10, 2016, Joseph Parker competed against Andy Ruiz for the WBO heavyweight title. It was a tough fight that lasted until the end, but Parker was declared the winner by a majority vote, making him the first New Zealander to ever achieve this. On 6 May 2017, the undefeated boxer successfully defended his WBO heavyweight title against Rãzvan Cojanu by unanimous decision. Just over four months later, he would defend the title again, this time against the cousin of legendary boxer Tyson Fury, Hughie Fury. The game over twelve rounds went Parker’s way by majority decision. This left Parker’s unbeaten professional record 24-0, with 18 of these wins counted as knockout victories.
Joseph Parker’s next fight will be against Anthony Joshua, the reigning heavyweight champion of the world. Anthony has held the International Boxing Federation title since 2016 and the WBA (Super) and IBO titles since 2017. This is definitely the hardest fight in Joseph Parker’s career so far. The fight is scheduled for Saturday 31 March 2018 and all the major titles of both opponents are at stake in this sizzling battle.
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Joseph Parker Net Worth
The boxer has an illustrious boxing career behind him, which until now comes directly from his amateur days. He has successfully won enough medals, belts, and titles to earn quite a lot of money. Moreover, his earning potential has increased with every match. His income, which comes mainly from his fights, makes him a total net worth of about 2 million dollars. This net worth will definitely skyrocket in a few years.
Joseph Parker’s Love Life
The boxer is currently in a relationship with his partner, a woman named Laine Tavita. In late 2016, Laine Tavita announced that she was expecting Parker’s child. Parker was about to travel to Las Vegas to prepare for his world championship fight. However, he stayed long enough to attend a baby shower held for the occasion.
He was in Las Vegas when his daughter Elizabeth Ah-Sue Sala Parker was born. She was named after Parker’s mother Sala and her older sister Elizabeth. To the best of our knowledge, Elizabeth is the first child to spawn the Parker-Tavita relationship.
Height, Weight & Body Measurements
Joseph Parker, who is known for his speed and pace, mentioned during the preparation for his fight against Andy Ruiz that he could improve his game if he gained a little more weight and muscles. Currently, the 6 foot 4 inch (1.93m) tall Parker weighs 112kg according to his final weighting for his fight with Anthony Joshua.
