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No Limit Boxing
Joseph Parker lands a left hook on Faiga ‘Django’ Opelu during his brief heavyweight fight in Melbourne.
Joseph Parker promised to make a statement, and for once he lived up to his word.
The New Zealand heavyweight needed less than a round to blast out Faiga ‘Django’ Opelu at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday night, closing the show with a thunderous right hook to the temple that sent his overmatched opponent tumbling to the canvas.
While Opelu gamely made it back to his feet and tried to continue, he was on unsteady legs and referee Ignatius Missailidis waved it off with 1 minute and 29 seconds still to go in the first round.
It was Parker’s first knockout victory in three years and will provide him with a much-needed confidence boost ahead of tougher tests against more decorated opponents than Opelu (15-4-2, 11 KOs), a rugged journeyman who was never in the same class as the former WBO champion.
After making quick work of Opelu, Parker was mobbed by his close friend Tyson Fury, who has been the centre of attention in Melbourne all week and was quick to talk up the Kiwi’s credentials after an explosive victory.
“It was a great performance and shows how hard Joe has been working in the gym,” Fury said as he celebrated with Parker and his cousin Andy Lee, the Kiwi’s trainer in the ring.
The reigning WBC heavyweight champion said he would like to see Parker take rematches with Andy Ruiz Jr, Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte and even Anthony Joshua and backed him to return to the summit of the division.
“Joseph Parker is f..king back on the map!” he added, to loud cheers inside the arena.
No Limit Boxing
Cruiserweight David Nyika was pushed hard by Louis Marsters but rallied to stop him in the fourth round.
After working with noted nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach George Lockhart, Parker (32-3, 22 KOs) certainly looked fitter and more fluid than in recent outings, putting his combinations together and showing the blurring handspeed that took him all the way to a world title in 2016.
In his post-fight interview, Parker said it was “about making a statement” and he wanted to “move onto the next one and fight as soon as I can”, saying he was willing to take on “anyone who’s keen.”
Earlier on the undercard, Parker’s compatriot David Nyika had to work hard for a fourth-round TKO win in a five-round cruiserweight contest with Louis Marsters.
Nyika (6-0, 5 KOs) struggled to pin down the aggressive Marsters early on as the underdog bum-rushed the Olympic bronze medallist and winged in shots from awkward angles.
Marsters managed to catch Nyika on multiple occassions but the better quality shots were coming from the Hamilton native, who started to punish his rival to head and body in third round.
In the fourth, Nyika rocked Marsters’ head back with an uppercut and just as he was about to follow up, the referee jumped in and waved it off to hand him a fourth-round TKO win.
It was a useful workout for Nyika, who hadn’t fought in seven months, but he will disappointed to have taken two more rounds to get rid of Marsters than he did in their first encounter last July.
MORE TO COME
* Sam Wilson travelled to Melbourne courtesy of No Limit Boxing
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