Taylor and Parker victorious in WBO Bouts held in Manchester

Sunday, May 2, 2021

Results from Manchester
12 x 3 mins vacant WBO Intercontinental Heavyweight Title
DEREK CHISORA v JOSEPH PARKER WSD12 (115-113 Chisora, 116-111 Parker, 115-113 Parker)
(Finchley, England) (Auckland, New Zealand)

Joseph Parker overcame a first-round knockdown to defeat Derek Chisora by split decision following a brutal Heavyweight battle at the AO, Arena Manchester, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in all markets excluding the UK, Ireland, China, New Zealand and Samoa.

The New Zealander had a disastrous start, hitting the canvas in the opening seconds, and Parker showed grit along with his classy combinations to secure victory with tallies of 115-113 and 116-111, with Chisora receiving a score of 115-113.

“I am feeling it,” Parker told Matchroom. “Derek landed a lot of shots on me. I’ll probably feel it more tomorrow. The plan was to come out and box smartly and stay focused. I got caught right at the beginning. I think it was round the back of the head, I didn’t see it.

“The plan was to box and move and be smart. With the guidance of Andy I was able to box. We didn’t have the longest time together. I know I needed a lot of work. I need to keep learning from Andy and practicing the things we work on in the gym.
“It was a tough fight and I got caught right at the beginning. I just had to dig deep and stay focused and follow the plan that we had in place. Swayed off a bit, but Derek is a very tough opponent. He came forward, put pressure on me from the beginning. Threw big bombs and landed a lot.

“The boxing skills won me some rounds towards the end. It was a very close fight. I thought it could go either way, and I’m very thankful and blessed to get the win today. He brought the smoke. If you want to feel it, jump in the ring with him.

“It’s very achievable [World Title fight]. I just have to get back to the training. There’s a lot of things I have to work on. I had a good plan in place. There’s still a lot I can show, I just have to keep working with Andy, and more camps ahead. We could do it next fight.”

10 x 2 mins Undisputed Lightweight World Titles
KATIE TAYLOR WUD10 (96-94, 96-95, 96-95) v NATASHA JONAS
(Bray, Ireland) (Liverpool, England)

Katie Taylor retained her WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine Lightweight World Titles after a unanimous decision victory over Natasha Jonas with scores of 96-94, 96-95 and 96-95.

The Irish star shared another memorable meeting with Jonas, nine years after their London 2012 Olympic Games bout, as Taylor was forced to dig deep for the win.

“Again, it was probably a bit too exciting for my liking,” Taylor told Matchroom. “It was definitely a toe to toe battle in there. I thought I was a bit flat early on, but I dug deep to win the championship rounds. I definitely showed the heart of a champion in there and that’s what won me the fight in the end.

“She showed everything it takes to win a World Title in her last two performances. Tonight was a brilliant showcase for women’s boxing and boxing overall. Every time we fought as amateurs it was that type of fight as well. I’d prepared for a hard ten-round battle tonight and that’s exactly what it was.

“Eddie was saying that fight would have brought the PPV sales up a small bit. That’s obviously a great start. I feel sorry for the main event coming out after that fight. It was a thrilling fight. I’m just delighted to come out of it with the belts and still undefeated. 18-0, onwards and upwards. This is what I’m in the sport for, I want to be involved in the biggest fights. There’s plenty of those fights out there for me.”