Joe Joyce vs Joseph Parker LIVE: Latest updates, result and reaction tonight
Re-live updates from the heavyweights’ showdown in Manchester plus all the undercard action
On Saturday night in Manchester, Joe Joyce was unfazed, undeterred and unrelenting as he marched through Joseph Parker’s offence, defence and resilience to knock out the New Zealander in the 11th round and claim the vacant interim WBO heavyweight title. There have been criticisms of Joyce’s speed, movement and creativity since the Olympic silver medalist turned pro, but the Briton has compiled a 15-0 (14 KOs) unbeaten record by playing to his strengths, and that was exactly what he did against Parker in this enthralling main-event contest at the AO Arena.
At 37 years old, Joyce has time against him in his quest to become a world champion, but it did not show on Saturday. Joyce picked his moments wisely in Manchester, applying constant, measured pressure against Parker but only increasing the volume and intensity of his output when absolutely necessary. Joyce established a healthy lead with forward movement, teasing jabs and well-timed power punches, while New Zealand’s Parker demonstrated great heart to absorb his opponent’s most effective offence and fire back with brutal body hooks and the occasional frightening haymaker.
Yet the “Juggernaut” continually pressed forward, indefatigable as he accepted Parker’s punches as though they were ‘tickles’, something he had threatened to do ahead of the bout. As the cuts and bruises began to mount for Parker, who did his best not to wilt and to instead conjure a finish against the odds, Joyce sensed that the end need not wait until the final bell, and he ultimately put Parker away in the penultimate round. Re-live updates from Joyce vs Parker and the full undercard, below.
Joyce vs Parker LIVE
Two of the top 10 heavyweights in the world will collide in Manchester tonight (24 September), as Joe Joyce welcomes Joseph Parker back to Britain for a highly-anticipated main-event fight.
Since winning silver for Team GB at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Joyce has compiled an unbeaten professional record of 14-0, knocking out 13 of his opponents along the way. Joyce has therefore been wasting no time in trying to become a world champion, which has been ideal for the 37-year-old, whose reputation as an up-and-comer belies his age. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Parker is 30-2 as a pro, with his only defeats having come against Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in back-to-back bouts in 2018, both on British soil as the home fighters outpointed the 30-year-old.
Parker’s last two outings also took place in Britain, as the Kiwi beat Derek Chisora via split decision then by unanimous decision in May and December 2021. Joyce, meanwhile, has fought more recently, stopping Christian Hammer in the fourth round this July. The WBO interim heavyweight title is on the line in this evening’s main event, with Parker and Joyce both taking a considerable risk by facing one another.
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