Joseph Parker Names the Opponent He Shouldn’t Have Faced

New Zealand’s WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) revealed the fight he never should have taken:

“Joe Joyce. It wasn’t my best night; it was really tough.

Before the fight, I got really sick. Really sick. I shouldn’t have stepped into the ring. But mentally, I thought I would destroy this guy. And then, after the first round, I realized: damn, things aren’t going so well.

He’s not the fastest and doesn’t move too briskly. I lost because of the pressure he put on me and the fact that I wasn’t in top form. It was rough,” Parker said.

The Joyce–Parker fight took place in September 2022. Back then, Joe Joyce won by knockout in the 11th round.