The only punch Parker could use to shatter Wardley’s world title dreams

fabio wardley And joseph parker Will compete at the O2 Arena tonight for the right to become the mandatory challenger oleksandr usykUndisputed Heavyweight Title.

Parker is a veteran of the heavyweight division. He has been a world champion, suffered defeats and remained only one fight away from reaching the ultimate pinnacle of heavyweight boxing again.

Wardley is a rising star with devastating knockout power that has taken him to Parker’s front door, hoping to take the position he has worked endlessly to achieve and maintain now that Usyk has collected the belt.

This pair have very different styles which will undoubtedly make for a crackerjack fight, balancing power against power and experience against youth.

Both men may have created careful game plans on how to derail their opponents’ world title dreams, but one weapon in Parker’s arsenal poses the biggest real threat to Wardley.

What is this weapon and why is Wardley vulnerable to it?

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Parker’s overhand right

While the jab is probably a pistol, the overhand right is a nuclear weapon, used by fighters with malicious intentions.

It differs from the traditional right hand in its trajectory. It has a slightly looping arc, allowing it to hit the target at an unconventional angle, hiding behind a conventional guard while the fighter crouches down to give it maximum velocity.

It is also used to defend against the opponent’s chin after applying pressure to the body, which is why we see fighters drop their level before throwing a shot.

Parker has long had the overhand right in his repertoire, using it as a final deterrent and also as an offensive weapon.

In recent years, he has used it to devastating effect against some of the best fighters in the world. Although Parker is not known for his lights-out power, he has exploited an overhand right when facing more physical or taller fighters. deontay wilder, dillian white And Martin Bakole,

Parker has had so much success with his overhand right because he doesn’t just use it as a desperate Hail Mary, but he adapts it to each opponent and situation he finds himself in – making it unpredictable and effective.

How does Parker use it so effectively?

Parker has found himself successful with the overhand right throughout his career, rather than using it as a desperate Hail Mary in search of a knockout.

Against Whyte, Parker’s back was against the wall; He suffered two knockdowns and was trailing on the scorecards. An exhausted Parker landed an overhand overhand with less than 30 seconds left in the fight, sending Whyte down.

If Parker had gotten that shot in the first round, a good argument could be made that he would have outpointed Whyte the rest of the way.

Against Wilder, Parker actually used his overhand right intelligently; Rather than try it as a last resort, he turned it to counter-shots to Wilder’s half-hearted jabs to put the American on the backfoot and in fact almost ended the fight in the ninth round after landing an overhand that left Wilder badly staggered.

By countering Wilder’s blows, he also prevented him from throwing a fight-ending right hand. For any boxer, the jab acts as a range finder for all their heavy strikes. If Wilder doesn’t find the target and is overmatched, not only does he not have his range, but he also loses confidence in his jab and resorts to firing wild single shots, most of which never hit the target.

The best example of Parker using his overhand is his most recent fight against Bakole. While it’s true that Parker’s opponent was out of shape after taking the fight on short notice, make no mistake, beating Bakole at any time is a challenge.

Bakole was confidently moving underneath Parker, looking for a short night’s work when Parker dropped his level and found target with a monstrous overhand, which Bakole initially ignored but caused a late reaction. Parker then landed another overhand that Bakole only hit, but the cumulative damage from both sent the heavy hitter falling to the canvas and the fight ended.

Why is Wardley unsafe?

Wardley, despite his lack of amateur experience, has risen to the top of the heavyweight division, and his power and constant threat cannot be denied, but the other side of the coin is that there are some very big holes in his game that Parker can exploit – namely, his defense.

The Brit acts very relaxed, with his right hand just below his chin, ready to block, but his left hand remains bent below his hip, and even when he moves back, he does not raise his left hand to defend himself.

With Parker’s prevalence of overhand rights, this could prove to be a major problem. It’s similar to what we saw with Wilder coming out strong against Parker and the Kiwi had no trouble finding the target.

Wardley throws his jab from that low position, and he returns to the same spot, so if Parker and his team have figured that out, he can easily look to neutralize the jab and counter with an overhand to either force Wardley into an uncomfortable defensive position or hit the target and look for a knockout as he did with Bakole.

What can Wardley do to eliminate the threat?

under the supervision of ben davisonYou can be sure that Wardley will have worked on his defensive skills in preparation for tonight’s fight.

At this point, it may be too late to radically adjust the way Wardley shapes up in the ring, as this could upset a fighter’s natural rhythm and disrupt their boxing style, which is more harmful than helpful.

Due to his height and reach advantage, Wardley can afford to keep his left hand down in exchanges at longer range as the slack lead allows him to hide his jab and get more snaps on it.

But once Wardley senses Parker getting into range, if he can lift the left hand to send a signal to Parker that he’s ready for it in the early rounds, it may prevent him from using that overhand.

Then, if Parker throws an overhand, Wardley can either absorb it on the gloves or take a step back and look to counter with a rear-uppercut as Parker moves his head down and to the side – catching him in an off-balance position.

Wardley has options available to eliminate the threat of Parker, and he will need to find the right option if he wants to keep his world title dreams alive.

Watch Parker vs. Wardley live only on DAZN

Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley fight to become the WBO mandatory challengers for Oleksandr Usyk tonight, October 25. Watch the fights and undercard live and exclusive on DAZN PPV.

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