Joseph Parker survived a predictable onslaught from Dereck Chisora to earn a controversial split decision win in their heavyweight boxing contest in Manchester on Sunday.
Parker was knocked down after just seven seconds of the opening round and looked to have lost the first four rounds, but gathered his composure to bravely see off a tiring opponent.
The judges scored it 115-113 Chisora, 116-111 Parker and 115-113 Parker.
Parker felt the fight was close, Chisora felt he was robbed and urged a rematch which Parker appeared keen on.
Chisora dominated the attack over the first half of the fight.
Once Parker was able to get a bit more space, he used his jab and found the angles to get a win under the tutelage of his new coach Andy Lee.
The fight followed a predictable script though few thought Chisora’s promised aggression would result in Parker being dropped so soon after the opening bell.
Chisora instantly rushed forward to corner the Kiwi and landed an overhand right to the back of Parker’s head that saw him forced to take a count.
To his credit, Parker wasn’t rattled and quickly shook it off. In the back of his mind though, he will have been concerned how that would impact the cards if the fight went the distance.
Parker knew he would have to weather a storm from Chisora and did exactly that, relying on his superior conditioning to withstand some considerable damage from the rugged Brit’s close-range attack, and then letting his fast hands go as the fight wore on.
Pleasingly, Parker still looked light on his feet as the fight went deep.
His regret will be his inability to get an early finish as Chisora presented an increasingly static target with his head movement stalling.
With the fight in the balance entering the 12th and final round, Parker had a great opportunity to pummel Chisora into submission, having him open and wavering on the ropes.
Inexplicably, Parker held off and Chisora seized his chance to lunge back into the contest and take it to the bell and the call of the judges.
The Polish judge, who scored it 116-111, effectively saw Chisora winning just three rounds which defied belief.
The result takes Parker’s career to 29-2 and keeps him relevant at the top end of the heavyweight ranks.
Chisora drops to 32-11 but his self-belief wasn’t dented as he took the lopsided scorecards as well as he did Parker’s punches.
