Joseph Parker has revealed the strongest opponent he has ever faced ahead of his high-stakes clash with Fabio Wardley this weekend and has snubbed some titans of the heavyweight division.
The WBO interim champion did not have to dig deep to come up with an answer and picked heavyweight stalwart and cult hero Derek Chisora.
“I would say Chisora was the strongest,” Parker told talkSPORT. “He is always on your chest and doesn’t leave you alone.
“All those little clubbing shots to the body and the head don’t look like much, but they all hurt and they all add up.
“He is a nightmare to deal with in the ring and outside of the ring.”
Parker and Chisora shared the ring in 2021 for a pair of barnstorming fights. In their initial meeting, Parker was dropped by the marauding Brit in the first ten seconds and had to battle back through the middle rounds to claim a narrow split decision.
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The close and entertaining nature of the first fight meant that a rematch was made for just seven months later, and Parker put on a much more dominant display – dropping Chisora three times on the way to a wide unanimous decision.
The brutal and close-quarters nature of both fights, or any fight against Chisora for that matter, makes it no surprise the Kiwi chose his former foe.
But in doing so, Parker omitted some of the most powerful and imposing fighters in the sport. Names like Zhilei Zhang, Joe Joyce, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte all spring to mind as alternative choices of some of the biggest and most powerful fighters Parker has ever faced.
But it does align with the testimony of the man he hopes to face after the Fabio Wardley fight, the undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who named Chisora as the hardest punching fighter he has ever faced.
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“Toughest fight – yes, it was [Fury], Usyk told the 3 Knockdown Rule Podcast. “Biggest punch – no. Because Derek Chisora, very tough guy.
“[One punch landed] on the gloves and I said, ‘Oh my god’. Like a baseball bat.”
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